Stargate: Elysium's Void
by VintageTorquoise
Summary: Hypothetical season 11 centered on a mass-crossover including Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Assassin's Creed, Andromeda, Babylon 5, Mass Effect, and more. Stories will be released in chapters and labeled when finished. MOST RECENT: Episode 1 "Elysium's Void" - Daniel remembers a trial that occurred during his ascension that puts him on the trail of Thaddeus Thatch... and the Anunnaki.
1. Elysium's Void P1: Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** I've had to rewrite much of this to better fit canon, since I'm a complete spoon and forgot several major things about it. I didn't want to leave Anthropos' comments to confuse anyone after this rewrite. I apologize! All your comments have still been extremely helpful and more than welcome! They remind me it's been too long since I last watched SG-1. ^^; I'll do my best not to make such major continuity errors again!

By the way, I've sent out messages to all two of you who faved and followed the first iteration of this story, just so there's no confusion. :)

* * *

"Daniel..."

Daniel Jackson opened his eyes. A great light filled the room he found himself in. Even stranger was the fact he felt weightless, despite having his feet planted firmly on some sort of unseen ground. There was nothing else around him except that light.

"Daniel," the woman's voice echoed through his mind once again. It almost sounded like...

"Oma?" His brow creased and he looked to the side, confused. He'd spoken more to himself than anyone else. Then he raised his voice. "Oma Desala?"

No answer. But before he could ask if it was her again, the light grew brighter, forcing him to cover up his eyes with his arm. The effect only lasted a moment, and when it was over, he found himself standing in mid-air above a circular platform surrounded by a series of stairs backed by thick stone pillars. Standing upon these steps was a great number of Ancients, whose forms radiated a soft, white glow. Upon the floor was a circle engraved in the center, surrounded by four lines sweeping out as if the circle had been rotating as they did so. Most notably, however, was the fact there was a strange woman on her knees in the center of the room, one of the Ancients standing tall in front of her.

Stranger still was the fact that Daniel could see himself standing on one of the sidelines with the other ascendants. Much as the days after he ascended, he wore a simple cloak and was the only one not glowing - though Daniel subconsciously ascertained that if this was a memory, he may have merely seen himself that way. He had his arms crossed and a skeptical look in his eye as he focused on the woman. Her hair was curled, tapering off into two strings which fell over her shoulders, and her skin had a pale, golden glimmer to it. The look on her face was nigh emotionless, it seemed.

Whispers filled the air as the council of Ancients reached a consensus. Their message was then relayed through the one standing in the center.

"You have broken the law, and thus introduced disorder among us."

The odd woman raised her head and balled her hands into fists, her gaze now slightly more defiant and cold than it had been moments ago.

"It is a foolish law," she exclaimed with a certain composure one might expect from those who accepted their deaths a mere day from the execution. "One which my people would not accept."

Whispers. "They agreed to abide our highest law."

It didn't take long for Daniel to realize they were talking about the Ancients' rule not to interfere in mortal affairs. Such a law was enforced among their own kind to prevent them from becoming like the Ori, another race of ascended beings who shared the same ancestry as the Ancients themselves. For the past two years, Daniel and SG-1 had fought these Ori, who were hellbent on spreading the word of their religion, Origin, by force. They were motivated to be worshiped by people as a means of increasing their strength. Perhaps it was like a drug to them. Either way, they were stopped after SG-1 created the Sangral and sent it through a supergate to their galaxy.

"Only because they were forced to." The woman being forced to defend herself in this trial spoke with a growing level of anger, though she managed to keep her poise regardless. "If it wasn't for your kind, we would still be standing where you are now."

Again, whispers. "That is not relevant to this trial."

"Is it not?" The woman didn't tear her eyes off the one towering above her, even for a moment. "I am motivated to see your younger race removed from these pedestals. You do not deserve to stand here where our kind made a pact to protect this galaxy at all costs. Furthermore, you do not have the right to enforce your will on this galaxy."

"Your kind forfeited that right when they began to interfere." The Ancient judge, a commanding female figure, stated with a strong voice. "We enforce our law to protect the galaxy from those like us who would exploit it."

"We /are/ the galaxy," responded the woman, her stoic countenance starting to break. "We are the suns, the moons, the nebulae. You are a people who ascended to this plane after. Before you, we could defend this galaxy from the Void. Now we are weakened and scattered because of you." Her voice took on an ominous tone, as if to warn them. "Many of us do not appreciate that."

This time, the whispers were more intense, and even the ascended Daniel appeared unnerved by this woman's declaration. But the one standing before her didn't move, gaze squarely locked on the one being accused.

"You are accused of conspiracy to take many of us to become hosts to a people you call allies." The Judge frowned rather deeply, but Daniel hardly focused on that. Instead, he was surprised to hear her mention a people who took hosts, considering he spent over eight years fighting such a species. Her next few words, undoubtedly translated in his mind for the sake of clarity, only confirmed his fear. "These Goa'uld present a threat to our continued existence. Do you deny this?"

"No," the accused answered defiantly. "Why not simply take action to stop them? All I have done is lure those of your kind into their traps. You have the power, do you not?"

"To answer for your crime," the Judge continued, ignoring the question Daniel heard far too often while he was ascended. Though his memories like this were gone, he at least recalled the time he appeared to Jack O'Neill in Ba'al's prison, even though Jack himself had to fill in some of the details. "You are to be banished beyond the Rim."

"Why?" The other 'woman' narrowed her eyes, but the fear behind her indomitable facade was unmistakable now. Daniel, now long since de-ascended, had no idea what this Rim was, but it sounded like a phenomenon marking the edge of Ancient-controlled space, if such a thing were possible. "Their people will make strong allies. They were but an infant race when I found them. They have /potential/. If any can put an end to the Abyss, it is the sons and daughters of Apsu."

"You are the last to find them worthy allies. So with you, no more of our kind can be enslaved in the ages past." Now the Judge raised her arms to her sides, the effect quite unnerving to those unaccustomed to their lack of humanoid form. "Your sentence is exile for breaking our highest law. There will be /no/ appeals from now into eternity."

Although she wanted to stand, the invisible chains binding the other woman's wrists and legs refused to let her move more than a centimeter. "No," she almost pleaded as two more Ancients faded into view on either side of her. But the true depth of passion she held for her beliefs overrode any sense of fear long enough for her to have the final word. "They will destroy you without me! You cannot hope to survive unless I can speak for you!"

"We have already chosen one of your kind to speak in our name." This revelation surprised the strange woman, though she hardly showed it. "It will be she who will prevent the conflict you have mentioned."

"Hypocrites," the other hissed as the two ascended beings seemed to take her by the arms. "What happened to not interfering?"

Again, the Judge ignored her. "Maura. You are pronounced guilty. This trial is adjourned."

Suddenly, the image warped out of existence, briefly leaving behind only a dark and formless void through which Daniel thought he could feel something creeping through. Before he could manage to see what it was...

His eyes opened. He was lying in bed, and if the soft moonlight against his wall was any indication, it was late. Rather hastily, he sat up and creased his brow as he tried to make sense of what he saw. The only thought he could must, however, was:

"Oh, that can't be good."

* * *

Back at SGC headquarters, eighteen levels beneath the mountain, Jackson searched through the books and checked the computer in the relative comfort of his lab. There weren't many details to go on from his dream, but he had the sneaking suspicion it might have been Oma Desala warning him of something. If not, a little research never hurt anything. That work ethic of his ran in the family.

"Jackson!" Colonel Cameron Mitchell's sudden interruption briefly startled Daniel, who could only muster a glance in Cameron's direction before focusing on the book laying open on his desk. "You're here early." As he stepped into the room with a smarmy look on his face, Cameron asked, "So I assume that means you're on to something?"

"Maybe," Jackson replied in an uncertain mumble. Rather than answer Cameron directly, however, he continued to skim through the text.

"Well?" Cameron pressured, leaning against the desk to get a better look at what Daniel was reading so intently. "Mind sharing with the class?"

"At the moment, I don't know if it's anything to be concerned about." Daniel narrowed his eyes as he continued to look carefully over each word. "I think... I may have remembered something from the time when I was ascended."

"How's that possible?" Cameron raised an eyebrow. "Your report said the Ancients wiped your memory."

"I know," Daniel acknowledged with another uncertain look, though his eyes stayed glued to the page. "But if anyone could restore my memories, it would be Oma."

"Oma Desala?" Cameron asked, clearly remembering the name from Jackson's report. "The Ancient that helped you ascend a few years ago?"

"Yeah." Now Daniel looked up, though his gaze was neither directed at Cameron nor apparently anything else in the room. It was distant, as if he was peering into his own thoughts. "She said something about a Void and the 'sons of Apsu'."

"Oma?" Cameron again inquired, but Jackson only shook his head and looked back down at the book.

"No. It was someone else... Maura." Before Cameron could ask if his friend was okay, Daniel sighed and gave him his attention. "I've never heard that name before."

"Was she a fellow Ancient?"

"Not exactly." Daniel crossed his arms and turned around, leaning back against the desk. "I think she was some kind of ascended being. But she made a statement I'm still having trouble decyphering." He let a brief silence pass between them as he considered her words, uttering them slowly shortly after. "We are the suns, the moons, the nebulae..."

Rather confused by it, Cameron gave Daniel a questioning look. "So what does it mean?"

"I don't know. Hence why I said I was having trouble decyphering it." Although slightly perturbed, Daniel wasn't really annoyed at Mitchell. He simply didn't have the answer. "The suns, the moons, the nebulae..." Another moment passed, and he looked up. "Various cultures considered stellar phenomena as 'gods'. Maybe there's some truth to those myths?"

The colonel lowered and shook his head. "Jackson..."

"Look, I know what it sounds like." Jackson stood up straight and faced Mitchell. "But we've seen some crazy things - things corroborated by myth. There's no reason to think that if ascension is possible, it would be relegated only to humans."

"There's no reason to believe it's not either."

With a sigh, Daniel had to concede the colonel's point. But he wouldn't let the matter rest entirely. "All I'm saying is we should consider the possibility."

"Alright," Cameron agreed, his stare again focused on Daniel. "So what does that have to do with us?"

Daniel blinked and looked down at his desk again. "Maura said something about a Void her people were protecting us from. An Abyss. Apparently, Oma couldn't tell me everything, or she'd be risking her place among the other Ancients. But whatever it is, we've got to learn more about it." He glanced up at Cam. "And the only people who might help us are hers."

"You sure about this?" Cameron gave Jackson a concerned look. "We just defeated Adria and stopped the last of Ba'al's clones eight months ago. Now you're telling me there's /another/ threat to this galaxy?"

"Cam, I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't think it was important." This time, it was Daniel's turn to address Cameron in an exasperated tone. They were all relatively tired from the events that transpired in the past month. "We need to find out what this is, and the only way we're going to do that is to find one of Maura's people."

"Alright. Fine." Cameron lifted himself and clapped his hands together. "So, where do we start?"

* * *

"The Anunnaki." Jackson stood at one end of the briefing room table, pointing at a television screen depicting images of various ancient rock carvings and painted reliefs. "Otherwise known as the offspring of Anu, himself the son of a deity or force called Apsu, the 'primordeal ocean'. They were considered the pantheon of gods for an ancient confederation of city-states called Sumeria, and also went on to influence the mythologies of later Mesopotamian cultures like the Akkadians, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians.

"Now, around five years ago, somebody postulated that the Anunnaki were aliens who visited Earth long ago. They claimed the Anunnaki traveled between their realm and Earth by way of some kind of stargate. Even Sumerian myth suggests they used a temple to go between our two worlds."

"That sounds familiar," Cameron muttered.

"It could be a reference to when the Goa'uld ruled over this planet," Teal'c reasoned.

"Yes, and since mythology is subject to cultural bias, it's easy to assume they simply took the events of when the Goa'uld ruled over this planet and changed some of the locations to be more familiar." Jackson hit a button on the remote he carried in one hand, and the image on the screen switched to one of another bas relief, this time showing a photograph of the reconstructed Great Ziggurat of Ur. "They even placed the location of the stargate at a temple much like this one."

"Clearly, they were wrong," Landry interjected, annoyed that this particular briefing seemed to be going nowhere.

"Well, not exactly." Jackson switched the image to a black-and-white photograph from the early 20th century. Everyone around the table recognized it immediately.

"Is that-" Cameron started, but Carter finished his thought.

"A Dial-Home Device?" SG-1's foremost expert on the science behind the gate could hardly believe her eyes. "Wasn't it discovered by the Germans during World War II? In Egypt?"

"Yes and no." With a purse of his lips, Jackson tapped his finger absentmindedly against the projector remote. "We don't actually know if they found it in Egypt. That was an extrapolation the Russians made with the available facts. The Germans could've brought it to Egypt before hostilities broke out between the British and the Iraqis, but I don't know."

"So..." Cameron interjected. "We /are/ talking about the same DHD you used to retrieve Teal'c about six years ago, right?"

"Yes, but that's not the point." The others simply stared at him blankly, though Carter at least seemed to be wondering what this could mean. "The point is, it was discovered decades before we thought it was. More importantly, it explains why Professor Langford never found the DHD in 1928."

"Then who moved it to-" Cameron flubbed his words for a moment, but managed to finish his inquiry with the correct wording. "Mesopotamia?"

"Some locals with delusions of grandeur?" Everyone looked at Vala as though she were mad. "Never mind."

"That's the part we're not sure about. It was found beneath the ruins of a shrine to Enki in Eridu." Again, Jackson hit a button on his remote, and the image flickered away, only to be replaced by a photograph of an old man in the kind of journeyman clothing worn by archaeologists of the 1910s. "This is the archaeologist who found it. His name was Thaddeus Thatch."

"Well that's a tongue twister if ever I'd heard one," Vala joked. But, as usual, Daniel wouldn't dignify her odd sense of humor with a response.

"How did this man come across the device?" Teal'c expressed the question that was on everybody's minds, save perhaps Vala, who was mouthing the name several times to herself.

"Mr. Thatch had a theory that there were a group of people on Earth who ruled a powerful and advanced civilization. He called them the Atlantians."

"Atlantis?" Now it was Cameron's turn to ask: "So he was after the Lost City?"

"In a manner of speaking." Daniel showed them another image, this time of an ancient book and an oddly-placed crystal hanging off the top of it. "Thaddeus found the Atlantis myth traveled far to the north, where it ended up discovered by the ancient peoples of Scandinavia. According to his notes, somebody kept trying to interfere with his investigation. Apparently, whoever it was failed, because the next page in his journal describes how he learned of a book somebody wrote which he ultimately found in Iceland."

"What does any of this have to do with ancient Mesopotamia?" Landry again felt forced to ask, given his short attention span when it came to briefings hosted by Dr. Jackson, who was infamous for his long-winded explanations of things that had no immediate, practical application.

"I'm getting to that," Daniel claimed, though Landry looked unconvinced. The next image to appear in this 'slideshow' was one of a line within the book. "This book was written by a Phoenician explorer named Aziz who accidentally discovered Atlantis, and it describes the city in further detail."

"How's that possible?" Carter raised an eyebrow. She had commanded the Atlantis expedition herself for a year, so she had plenty of time to catch up on the history of the city during her time there. "Atlantis left Earth nine million years ago."

"And there aren't any written records from that time, I know," Daniel corroborated, leading at least a single eyebrow to be raised - specifically by Teal'c. "That's because he wasn't describing the city we know. He was describing another."

"A second Atlantis?" Cameron asked in disbelief.

"Sort of." Daniel blinked and looked down at the remote in his hand for a second before raising his head to address his audience again. "Apparently, this Atlantis may have been an experiment by the Ancients after they ascended."

"What were they trying to accomplish?" Carter questioned with a look of confusion.

"/That/ I'm not sure..." Daniel pursed his lips and bowed his head slightly. "The book disappeared a few years after Thaddeus passed away. His own journal remains in the Library of Congress. All we know for certain is that Thaddeus believed Aziz searched for the city because it held some secret about the device he found which Thaddeus later recovered."

"The DHD," Carter acknowledged and looked over at Cameron.

"So we need the journal to find the book?" Cameron put two and two together.

"Not only that," Daniel started with a look that said there was more to it than simple a trip to the library. "We know who checked it out last."

"And these Anunnaki... how do they fit in?" Landry brought the briefing back full circle, hoping to get some kind of closure to that part which Daniel left unexplained. But Daniel could only frown and give Landry a look that suggested he wouldn't like the answer.

"Only one way to find out."

* * *

The team had gathered in the gate control room for the most part, sans Daniel, who decided it best to beam over to a designated transport site in Washington D.C. so he could locate the book itself and take whatever notes he could. Carter sat at the controls near where Walter once sat. Unfortunately for them, Walter had already transferred to the Pentagon to work with Homeworld Command under General Jack O'Neill.

They had established a stable wormhole, and now waited to hear a reply from the other side.

Then the computer monitor flickered, and they were greeted with a live video feed of a certain leader of the recently-expanded Atlantis expedition: Richard Woolsey. In the course of several months, Atlantis had been sent back to the Pegasus galaxy with the help of both O'Neill and Carter in particular. After it had settled on a world on the outer edge of that galaxy, they underwent a relatively short conflict with a powerful Wraith hive who nearly destroyed the city. It was only with the help of several others in Pegasus, plus two of SGC's own ships, that the city survived.

But that was neither here nor there. They'd secured the expedition, and aside from further conflicts with the Wraith, the city continued to stand to this day.

"General," he acknowledged Landry first and foremost, which caused Cameron some slight annoyance. "What can we do for you?"

"We're not calling to ask for Atlantis' services today, Mr. Woolsey."

"Then why, may I ask, are you calling?"

"You once worked with Senator Kinsey, is that correct?" Landry already knew the answer, so he continued before Woolsey could get another word in. "Dr. Jackson believes Kinsey withheld important information about another threat in our galaxy."

"Surely you don't think he let /me/ in on all his little secrets?" Woolsey started to protest, but he could tell that nobody on the other line was buying it. Swallowing the growing lump in his throat, he acquiesced. "What do you need to know?"

This time, Cameron spoke up. "What do you know about a man named Thaddeus Thatch?"

"Thaddeus Thatch?" Woolsey didn't appear to recognize the name, and his confusion only made Vala smile knowingly. It /was/ a strange name after all. "I'm not sure."

"Then maybe this will jog your memory." Cameron produced a small photograph of Thaddeus and held it up in front of the camera. "Ring any bells?"

Richard squinted, but couldn't quite put the face. "No, I'm afraid I don't."

"He discovered the original DHD for Earth's stargate," Carter explained. "The same one the Russians found in Germany."

That seemed to catch Woolsey's attention. "He did?"

"Woolsey," Landry interjected. "We're kind of strapped for time here."

"When Senator Kinsey worked with the Trust, did he tell you anything?" Cameron added.

Woolsey briefly lowered his eyes, and it looked like he would simply stew in his own metaphorical guilt without saying anything for some time. However, before anyone else could question him further, he looked up and explained what he could.

"Six years ago, the NID investigated the mad ramblings of a certain conspiracy theorist who seemed convinced the U.S. government was running a stargate program out of Iraq. He was a well-known archaeologist who found a clay tablet made well over three thousand years ago. On it was a depiction of what could only be described as a stargate... and a name. Aziz.

"We did some digging and found the name referenced in a journal by an earlier archaeologist named Thaddeus Thatch. We used his research to locate where the DHD had been located prior to being moved to Egypt by somebody - possibly Thatch. We thought we could find some markings or tablets still buried since the Soviet withdrawal from the area, learn if there was any other technologies buried there."

"What did you find out?" Cameron asked, though it was only to keep Woolsey talking. Sooner or later, he figured, Kinsey's former right-hand would slip up and tell them something they could use.

"Not much. A clay tablet we found mentioned some kind of war, one with a continent supposed to be located in the Atlantic." Although disappointed, Woolsey continued. "We wanted to see if we could find out more about this lost continent, so we tried searching for the Shepherd's Journal."

Cameron raised an eyebrow and looked back over at Carter, who explained, "The book we're looking for." With that, Mitchell responded with a simple "ah" and turned back to watch Woolsey continue to bumble through his explanation.

"Unfortunately, we never found it. Then the Trust was compromised and Senator Kinsey killed. Whatever he knew about Dr. Thatch's research may have already been passed on to the new leader of the Trust."

"Ba'al." Cameron stood up straight and gave Carter and the others a look that said it all. They'd have to go meet Ba'al's host, Aziru, and hope he remembered what Ba'al had discovered about Thatch's investigation.

"I'm afraid so." Woolsey frowned and admitted, "That's all I know. If Senator Kinsey /did/ check out the journal after he was compromised-"

"We know," Landry stated as he glanced back at SG-1 sans Daniel. "We'll stay in contact, Mr. Woolsey."

The last they would see of Woolsey was him nodding his head once, a grim expression on his face. Then the stargate deactivated and his image disappeared.

"Carter, where's Ba'al's host now?" Cameron asked. He thought she would know the answer, but it was Vala who answered first.

"He's been hidden on a world not in our database." Before Cameron could ask, Vala added, "I know what you're thinking. But there's a reason he's hidden." She eyed Teal'c, who could only return her gaze in his own, stoic manner. "Tell them, Teal'c."

At first, Teal'c had to think about it, but then he realized what she meant. "The Jaffa High Council has requested Ba'al's host be turned over to them for judgment."

"Why?" Cameron looked incredulous, and his voice didn't cover his annoyance at that particular revelation either. "Ba'al's host was as much a victim as anyone."

"That may be so," Teal'c acknowledged with a slight bow of his head, as if to apologize for being the bearer of bad news. "However, many among my people cannot see past the face of the false god who turned us against one another."

"He's on the Reol colony world." Vala finally spoke up again, but only in a low voice. She wasn't sure who she could trust aside from her team and, possibly, General Landry, who stood with his arms crossed and listened to every word they had to say. "The Tok'ra and the Reol have been working together for some time to help former hosts of Goa'uld get their lives back. The only way to do that has been to make them face their demons and reject who they were when the Goa'uld inhabited their bodies."

"The Reol?" Landry asked. Although he'd read every one of SG-1's early mission reports, his memory failed him on occasion.

"They're an alien species capable of creating illusions," Carter explained. Then she gave Vala a look of confusion. "But I didn't know they could generate illusions based on memory."

"I think one of the Tok'ra mentioned they took images from the host's mind and showed them to the Reol so they could take on the forms of people familiar to the host in question." Vala managed to answer, though she didn't seem completely certain.

"Do they really need to be subjected to hallucinations to recover?" Landry sounded unconvinced.

"That is what it took to recover my own mind when I was brainwashed by Apophis," Teal'c acknowledged. "Perhaps after being trapped in one's own body for so long, with a powerful mind in control, it is difficult for the host to remember who they were. They would need a reminder of what they had lost so they could regain it again."

"Two-thousand years..." Vala had a distant look in her eye, and she focused on nobody but the computer monitor Carter sat in front of. "What's left for him to regain?


	2. Elysium's Void P1: Chapter 2

_"Raise the sails! Make ready for port!"_

 _872 BCE. An eternity ago. Aziru could still feel the warm breeze and the spray of water as the bow of his galley clapped the water after passing over a wave. There, in the distance, stood the tall, indomitable walls of Tyre, a jewel off the coast of Phoenicia that served as a major trading post in the eastern Mediterranean. But it wasn't the city he admired._

 _There, on the docks, stood the love of his life and their son, awaiting his return. His heart filled with joy and excitement, Aziru urged his crew to hurry. Whilst they made every effort to row the ship carefully into range of the dock, the middle-aged merchant moved to the front of his ship and stood proudly at the bow. When his wife caught sight of him and held up her hand in what passed as a 'wave' those days, Aziru smiled and raised his slightly. Happy as he was, he didn't need to confuse his crew with a gesture meant to bring their ship to a stop._

 _After what felt like another eternity, they had finally made port, with one of Aziru's crew tying the ship to a post. But Aziru himself took the opportunity to step off on to the dock to greet his approaching wife and son with arms held open. Briefly, they embraced, before Aziru reluctantly pulled away, his hands still gently pressed against his wife's shoulders in a gesture meant to reassure her that he was real. Then he looked down at his ten-year-old son and released his wife long enough to crouch down to his eye level while reaching out to take the boy's hands into his. They were much smaller, yet bigger than the last time he held them._

 _"You've grown," Aziru exclaimed with as much pride as any father should've felt._

 _"You both have," Aziru's wife, the beautiful Arishat, noted with a compassionate look. "It's been nearly a year."_

 _"I know," Aziru answered with an ache in his throat as he stood, one hand reached out to gently cusp hers. "I'm truly sorry. The life of a merchant is not an easy one..."_

 _"So you've said," Arishat replied, matching Aziru's solemn tone and expression. "How much longer? When will you settle down and live with us like you promised?"_

 _"Soon, my love. Soon." Aziru's answer did little to assuage Arishat, who merely crossed her arms and looked away. He could feel the terror and sadness in her eyes. She worried that one day, he would never return. "I just need to earn enough to start a new business. Then I can pay for others to take over in my stead."_

 _Arishat closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly. "I pray you aren't lost before then."_

 _"I don't intend to be." Aziru smiled that confident smirk he always had. "As long as you are here, I will always find my way home."_

Suddenly, he felt himself torn away from that memory and thrust back into the present. When he opened his eyes, he felt the rough fingers of the Reol pull away from his head, where they had been during the whole recollection. Across from him sat the one he knew as Zanuf, a Tok'ra who would have blended with Adria had she not ascended two years ago.

"You didn't scream this time." Zanuf sounded impressed. "You are making progress."

Despite those words of encouragement, Aziru's face fell as quickly as his heart did. "I wish I could say the same."

"Give it some time." This time, it was Zanuf's host, Irvine, who spoke. Both he and the Goa'uld symbiont within him shared the host body. The first time Aziru encountered them after the extraction ceremony, he couldn't believe any sort of Goa'uld would truly respect the rights of the host. That all changed a few months ago, as they put him through the first steps to rehabilitation. "Nobody expects you to make a full recovery very quickly."

If this were like any of those other times Aziru had experienced the Reol mind-probe, an ability which the Reol were able to control with the aid of a memory recall device attached to the subject, he would've instantly went silent the moment it was over. But this time, the thought of his family moved him to speak, if only in a whisper.

"What happened to them?"

"Your family?" It didn't take long for Irvine to figure out who Aziru referred to. The question only made him look down at his hands, afraid to answer out of both pity and sympathy. If he were in Aziru's place, he would feel so empty. "I don't know."

Now Aziru grew silent, his head also bowed so he didn't have to look Irvine in the eye. After swallowing the lump that had been growing in his throat, he spoke in a hushed tone, "I keep thinking I'll wake up back home with my wife and son." His eyes closed tightly just as the tears began to form. "I keep... hoping... this is all a dream... that none of this happened."

"You can't afford to keep thinking like that." Irvine knew from experience how one's hope for something could sabotage everything else they'd accomplished. "The fact is, you're here now. And you have to adjust."

"Why?" Aziru opened his eyes, allowing several tears to run down his cheeks. But he didn't look Irvine in the eye still. He didn't want to be reminded of what he'd become. "Why not let me die in peace so I can be with them?"

"Aziru..." Irvine would try to reason with him, but it never seemed to do any good. The man had just lived too long, seen himself commit too many atrocities, to ever be the same. "What Ba'al did to you was wrong. He took your life away from you. But you deserve to get it back."

"I can't." Aziru's voice cracked as the sorrow began to set in. "Not without... them."

Irvine let out a defeated sigh as Aziru began to weep. He looked over to the window embedded in the crystaline walls of the Tok'ra cave where SG-1 and Sina watched.

The look on his face told them all they needed to know.

* * *

"Have you tried telling him what's at stake here?" Jackson asked Irvine after they had settled into a meeting room chamber with Sina also present. "I mean, he's the only one with the knowledge of what might've happened to the Shepherd's Journal."

"If he knows, it is buried deep within his subconscious." It was Zanuf who answered in that same stoic, dispassionate voice as had become natural for him over the centuries. "Since Ba'al's extraction, the host's own, original memories have begun to reassert themselves. Anything he has learned while under Ba'al's control cannot be accessed as memories."

"But this is important!" Jackson insisted, his voice sounding increasingly anxious as he argued his case. "Can't you restore his memories somehow?"

"That would not be wise," Sina interjected, just as stoic and unmoving as Zanuf. "Aziru has undergone significant trauma. If we were to force him to relive his memories as a host too quickly, he would collapse under the strain."

"Or his mind would attempt to cope by /becoming/ Ba'al." Irvine didn't sound too happy about that, but who could blame him? After well over a year of trying to capture the last of the System Lords, undoing all they accomplished in a matter of hours didn't appeal to him. "Either way, we can't go through with it."

Before Jackson could protest again, Cameron spoke next. "We understand. But is there another way?"

Irvine and Sina shared a disturbed look before the latter answered, "There is."

"But we would never consider it," Irvine finished. "It would require cloning Ba'al's symbiont with a DNA sample we took prior to the extraction... and letting it control Aziru again."

A stunned silence gripped the air among them, as the true horror of that thought left each of them speechless. When all was said and done, however, it was Teal'c who broke the silence.

"Perhaps I can speak with him."

"You?" Sina asked in disbelief. "What would you accomplish that we could not?"

"No," Zanuf chimed in with an intrigued look at Teal'c. "No, he's right. I've read the reports." When Sina turned her perturbed gaze at Irvine, he explained. "Teal'c has a son, and once a wife." Mentioning that caused Teal'c to briefly feel a pang of regret, but the Jaffa said nothing lest it consume him. "He's been through the Rite of M'al Sharran. He knows what it takes. There's no one better qualified."

Sina contemplated this for a time, but finally frowned deeply and looked up at Teal'c.

"Then you may speak to him."

* * *

Teal'c silently wandered into the room where Aziru sat, hands clasped behind him while Aziru's rested atop one another on his lap. The air felt thin. Teal'c couldn't look at Aziru without memories of his torture at the hands of Ba'al rushing through him. Those thoughts nearly sickened him, and for a brief moment, he understood how his fellow countrymen felt. This was the face of the man who made so many suffer. Why shouldn't they be allowed some measure of absolution... some peace of mind?

But Teal'c couldn't afford to feel that way. It would compromise every sense of honor he felt - no, that he /knew/ to be true. Ba'al had received his rightful punishment for those crimes he committed. Why, then, did it feel as if it wasn't enough?

Then he heard it. Quietly, Aziru wept... another casualty on a long list of those whose lives Ba'al managed to ruin-if not outright destroy. That caused Teal'c to steel himself against those thoughts of vengeance and acclimate himself to the truth. Nothing his fellow Jaffa said or did could make him condone this man, whose only 'crime' was outliving the ones he loved. No doubt, Teal'c thought as he approached slowly, Aziru blamed himself for that.

"I know your sorrow." Teal'c's words held a certain empathy to them that would otherwise not be possible if he'd been lying. "I, too, was married... a long time ago."

As Aziru's suppressed cries began to recede, Teal'c continued while standing beside the man.

"When she passed away, I felt I would never recover." Teal'c bowed his head and held his arms behind him, stepping away from where Aziru sat as the former Goa'uld listened in silence. "My own son blamed me for her death... I could only stand there as he lashed out against me. Had I not been patient, waited for the right opportunity, our relationship would've never recovered. But nothing I do will ever give her life again."

This time, Teal'c turned and braved his own misgivings to look Aziru in the eye. Ba'al's former host finally raised his head and matched Teal'c's look through tear-stained eyes. "In the end, I chose to honor her memory. When the people of this world were threatened by an Ancient weapon in Anubis' possession, my son and I assaulted the planet on which the weapon was located. He destroyed it. Billions of lives were saved."

Aziru lost the will to stay his eyes on Teal'c, and his gaze faltered. But Teal'c only had to take a step forward and continue to look sympathetically at the man to keep his attention. "There is now a potential threat to this galaxy, and we need to know more about it. You were once the host of a powerful Goa'uld." At that, Aziru visibly winced, and his head fell even further. "Ba'al knew of a book known as the Shepherd's Journal. We need to know its location."

At first, all Aziru could manage was a weak shake of his head, but Teal'c persisted. "You must try to remember! Countless lives may be at stake!" The rough treatment he received from Bra'tac during both his training and his Rite of M'al Sharran echoed in his voice. If that's what it took to help Aziru break free of his own fears, then that was what Teal'c would provide. Then he narrowed his eyes. "What would your wife and son think of you if you allowed billions to die when you could have prevented it?"

Memories. Pain. Drudged up from his subconscious, Aziru began to see... images. Faces. Glowing eyes. A book. Despite a sharp pain in his head, he focused on those images. Almost as soon as he did, the memory recall device attached to the side of his head became active. Teal'c looked back over his shoulder at the observation room, where Jacob had already set up the holographic projector. They were soon greeted with the same images Aziru now saw.

Daniel leaned forward against what passed as a desk in these unique caverns, carefully observing each image as it flickered by in an instant. When the images finally began to coalesce into a single memory, both he and the rest of SG-1 aside from Teal'c would witness Ba'al's hand on the front cover of the Shepherd's Journal before the Goa'uld ushered his host to look up. He was standing in a grandiose office behind a mahogany desk, with an older man in a suit bound to an armchair across from him. Two security guards in all black flanked the gentleman, but otherwise stood their ground until presumably Ba'al gave the word.

 _"Well, Mr. Widmore." Ba'al smirked, his demeanor smug as always. "It appears my sources were correct. You /are/ a descendant of Preston Whitmore, and heir to all his possessions. Tell me, what other secrets could you be hiding?"_

 _"I don't know what you're talking about." Mr. Widmore looked defiant, but inside, he was terrified. This... /thing/... got through his security with some sort of zap gun. He'd never seen anything like it. "Whatever it is you're looking for, you won't find it."_

 _"We'll just see about that, won't we?" Ba'al now grinned as he lowered himself into what would have been Mr. Widmore's seat. He regarded the Shepherd's Journal for a moment, but ultimately decided to fix his gaze on Widmore. "So, where is it?"_

 _"Where is what?" Almost the moment Widmore spoke out, Ba'al nodded to one of the guards, who produced a Rod of Anguish from behind him. Wordlessly, he stabbed the end of it into Widmore, shocking the old man with energy so powerful it could be seen glowing out of the eyes and mouth of its victim. When it was over, Ba'al asked again._

 _"Where is the lost continent your ancestor mentioned in his journal?"_

 _Widmore coughed and spat a bit of blood that had gathered in his mouth before glaring at Ba'al. "Go to hell."_

 _Ba'al smirked and gestured for the torture to continue. Once Widmore had a chance to speak again, Ba'al had already stood back up and wandered away from the desk to look out a window near the back of the room. "Would you like to know how we found you?" After briefly considering what it might be like to own an estate as grand as this one, he slowly turned back and looked Mr. Widmore in the eye. "It's quite an interesting story."_

 _As one of the guards returned to the office door at Ba'al's curt nod, Ba'al continued. "You see, my organization requires a certain... influence over human affairs. The only way to control the people on your world is through that influence. Suffice it to say, a newcomer in a millenia-old host could not exercise the sort of influence someone established already could." He leaned forward on the desk, smiled, and tilted his head. "Imagine my luck when I ran into one of your people. Using my own /unique/ brand of persuasion, I convinced her to help me lure you here. I'm certain you two would like to get... reacquianted."_

 _Widmore simply sat there and gave Ba'al the most cold stare he could muster. But when Ba'al's eyes briefly glowed, Widmore's face betrayed the discomfort he actually felt. Suddenly, the doors behind where Widmore sat opened, and the sound of two pairs of footsteps could be heard behind him. While the guard stepped back over to the side, Widmore glanced over to see who it was following him. His heart stopped._

 _"P-Penelope?" He weakly stuttered, now so visibly shaking it gave Ba'al a certain sense of pride. Penelope only stood there, like a statue, refusing to avert her gaze from her new god. Furious, Charles Widmore looked back at Ba'al and spat, "What have you done to her?!"_

 _"Nothing." There was that smug and self-assured smile of the Goa'uld again. "I merely made her a proposition. One which you were incapable of providing." A subtle look of confusion laid beneath Widmore's mask of anger. "I will help her find her missing beloved."_

 _"Don't listen to him, Penelope." Charles was no longer interested in looking his daughter in the eye. Instead, he merely hoped to intimidate his captor and determine what he was after. Certainly the lost continent was one, but that could also mean... "Desmond is dead. He and his ship disappeared during a sailing race."_

 _"One which you sponsored," Ba'al pointed out, causing Penny's expression to briefly falter._

 _"You never intended to let him marry me." Penelope continued to evade her father's judging gaze, tears beginning to spill from her eyes when she did finally face him. "You lied to me!"_

 _"Penelope," Charles pleaded, clearly distraught as Ba'al looked on. "He would've hurt you."_

 _"Like you hurt me?" With those words, Penelope shared a long and bitter look with Charles before looking back at Ba'al. "Where's Desmond?"_

 _"That is one of the pieces of information I intend to get out of your father." As Ba'al looked back down at the Shepherd's Journal, gently closing the book, an idea crossed his mind. "Would you care to do the honors?" he said while studying Penelope's reaction._

 _"Penelope, no." Charles tried to reign her in with that same commanding tone. "He's insane."_

 _"No more than you." Penelope, her mind no longer her own, took the pain stick out of one of the guard's hands without any hesitation and pointed it at her father. "I hope this hurts like hell, you bastard." She jabbed the pain stick into the man's chest, while Ba'al watched in amusement._

Suddenly, the memory ended. Cameron looked concerned. "Did anyone hear him mention /anything/ about where the journal or 'Atlantis' was?"

Aziru's voice whispered over the holographic emitter, even as the man himself sat with his head bowed and muttered the word over and over again where even Teal'c could hear:

"Altaria."

"Correct me if I'm wrong..." Cameron glanced back around the room until Daniel looked back at him. "But isn't Altaria P2X-887?"

Vala acknowledged it with a nod. "One of Anubis' planets." Cameron shot her an exasperated look. "Well, Ba'al's now... or /was/."

Daniel narrowed his eyes and looked back at the weak image of Mr. Widmore's torture on the holographic display. "One clue leads to another..."

* * *

Although they weren't particularly happy with it, SG-1 decided to split the search between them. Half the team had to journey through the gate to find out the current situation on Anubis' old stomping grounds, while the rest tried to locate Charles Widmore, who may have told Ba'al exactly what he wanted to know. None of them were professional investigators, but Daniel and Teal'c volunteered to travel to the planet and scout out the base first, with Vala's help. In the meantime, Carter and Mitchell decided to dig up anything they could on Widmore. Samantha had one particular connection she thought could help.

After having been forced to wait a few minutes in a waiting room at the Pentagon, Carter and Mitchell were finally escorted by a civilian guard to the office of one Malcolm Barrett.

"Sam!" He exclaimed with a wide smile on his face when he saw who it was. Standing from behind his desk, he wandered up to her, but stopped short of reaching out to hug her. Instead, he cleared his throat, chuckled nervously, and held his hand out to give hers a shake. "It's been a while. Last I heard, you were off-world on Atlantis, right?"

"That's right. I rejoined SG-1 soon after I got back," Carter acknowledged with a grin. She glanced back at Cameron. "You remember Colonel Mitchell."

"The business with the 'twins'," Cameron stated in a feigned, conspiratorial way as he reached out and shook Malcolm by the hand. "All twenty of them."

"Yes, of course." Malcolm forced a laugh, but he couldn't help but look back at Carter. It had been years since he tried, unsuccessfully, to start up a relationship with her, but he held on hope. He realized he was staring and quickly excused himself, stepping back around to his seat while offering the two a place to sit across from him. "So..." He glanced between them once they had all settled in. "What brings you both here?"

"There's a small problem we need your help on," Carter admitted with a nervous smile.

Although Malcolm was about to admit he thought as much, Cameron interrupted that thought by getting straight to the point. "We're looking for a man by the name of Charles Widmore."

"Widmore?" Now Malcolm looked concerned. "What's this about?"

"He may have been involved with the Trust." When Malcolm's eyes widened in surprise, Carter explained. "We found out Ba'al had been searching for something in Mr. Widmore's possession. We think it has to do with a book he had, the Shepherd's Journal."

"We did some research. He's the big boss of a multinational corporation the little ego-maniac named after himself." Cameron crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. "Ba'al tortured him into giving up some information. We think he may know where to find Atlantis." Malcolm opened his mouth, but Mitchell interrupted, "Not /that/ Atlantis. A different one."

"I see." Malcolm sighed and reluctantly logged on to his computer. It was going to be a long day. Finally, he found some information. "Looks like Mr. Widmore's company was already investigated. Turns out he invested quite a bit of money in Ba'al's original start-up company. He left the Trust over a year before your Goa'uld took over."

"Where is he now?" Carter asked inquisitively.

Malcolm typed something in and looked stunned. Before either Carter or Mitchell could ask, he answered, "According to this, he disappeared a few years ago."

"Disappeared?" Cameron asked with mute surprise. "What does that mean?"

"It means he disappeared," Malcolm cryptically answered with a frown. He didn't know how else he could put it, so he just tried to search for more information. While Carter and Mitchell shared a look of concern, Malcolm found something. "It looks like he was last reported seen in Los Angeles. Seems he chartered an old submarine for a trip in the Pacific, but he never left any records of where he'd be going... at least, none that I can find."

After a brief moment of thought, which was all she needed, Carter asked, "What about his daughter?"

"Penelope?" Cameron acknowledged, hoping the name would help narrow Malcolm's search. Sure enough, it did.

"Got it. She lives in a small condo in a London suburb. I'll write you the address." With a few quick scratches of pen against a notecard, Malcolm finished marking down the number before handing it over to Samantha, despite Cameron initially reaching out to take it. As Carter took the card, Malcolm looked wistfully into her eyes and said, "Take care of yourself out there."

Carter smiled, briefly glanced down at the card, then focused on Malcolm. "You too."

* * *

Altaria, or P2X-887 as the imaginative blokes at SGC labeled it, didn't seem all that different at first glance. The only difference was that they weren't being attacked. That was always a welcome change. But apart from that, Daniel didn't like it. Something felt off.

"Teal'c, is it just me, or are you getting a bad fee-" As he turned to face Teal'c, he stopped mid-sentence. Teal'c stared at a familiar sight in the distance. A Ha'tak. "Nevermind."

"It may have been one of Ba'al's," Teal'c conjectured. "Or it may belong to an as-yet undefeated System Lord we have not encountered."

"What are the chances of that?" Daniel picked at his glasses before shielding his eyes from the sun as it peered through a cloud. "The rebellion of your people must have done away with their powerbase. I doubt there was a single Goa'uld unaffected by it."

"Maybe so," Teal'c agreed, but only conditionally. "We should investigate."

Before giving Daniel a chance to say anything else, Teal'c took off toward the tree line at a slight crouch. Exasperatedly, Daniel gave in and followed close behind.

Some time later, they were crouched behind a series of hedges overlooking the ground entrance to the ship, presumably part of some minor pyramidal tomb frequently used as landing pads by the Goa'uld's similarly pyramid-shaped spacecraft. To their surprise, there weren't any guards or Jaffa - only people camped out in tents around the base of the vessel. A few people wandered by wearing Jaffa armor and carrying staff weapons, but they neither had any mark on their forehead nor carried themselves the same way a Jaffa would. Many of the people exchanged friendly pleasantries with one another, even with the would-be soldiers. Overall, it appeared to be a well-off community.

"They appear to be human," Teal'c specified as he peered at them through binoculars. "Could they be with the Lucian Alliance?"

"I don't think so." Daniel finally lowered his own pair of binoculars and creased his brow as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing. "The Lucian Alliance rules by fear. Even most of the human societies we've come across with access to Goa'uld technology have done the same thing. But these people... they seem to be living in a more egalitarian society."

Teal'c frowned and looked at Daniel. "Egalitarian?"

"Equal status, equal opportunities for things like food, education..." Daniel took a deep breath and stood up, to the bewilderment of his Jaffa friend. "Let's see who they are."

As Daniel carefully made his way down the hillside, with Teal'c following some distance away, one of the villagers noticed him out the corner of her eye. It wasn't long before nearly all eyes were on Daniel as he approached the campsite holding his hands out to his sides in a non-threatening manner. Even the soldiers waited to open the business ends of their staff weapons until or unless he actually presented a threat.

"Hello," he started off rather awkwardly, echoing the earlier days when he would make first contact with a new group of humans off-world. "My name is Daniel Jackson."

One of the people, a young man whom Daniel loosely recognized, stepped out from among the crowd. Unlike the rest, he was dressed in priestly robes reminiscent of the Jaffa who carried infant Goa'uld larva to be used in ritual cannibalistic practices by the older Goa'uld. Just the thought of that made Jackson's stomach turn, but thankfully, there appeared to be no container of Goa'uld larva anywhere in sight.

"I am Cepheus." One end of his lips tipped upward into a subtle smile. "Have we met?"

After a moment, Daniel began to realize who it was. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach made him instinctively take a step back in the faint hope he could run if he needed to. Cepheus was the _lo'taur_ , or right-hand servant, of Ba'al when Daniel undertook a Tok'ra mission to poison the entirety of the System Lords who gathered at a spacestation summit to vote on whether or not to let Anubis back into their ranks. His mind had been almost entirely preoccupied with breaking Osiris' control over his former girlfriend, Sarah, that he barely remembered many of the other faces who were there.

"Is something wrong?" Cepheus clearly hadn't caught on, but the way he began to look suspicious suggested he was beginning to put two and two together as well.

"Uh, nothing! Nothing's wrong." Daniel laughed nervously and lowered his hands as he continued to take a few steps backward. That's when Teal'c stepped up beside him, giving Daniel the opportunity to introduce him. "This is my friend, Teal'c."

"A Jaffa," Cepheus noted in awe. He hardly focused on Daniel at that point. "We have not seen one of your kind in years." Noticing the symbol on Teal'c's forehead, he added, "You were a servant of Lord Apophis?"

"Indeed," Teal'c answered rather grimly. "Who do you serve?"

Cepheus answered with a proud sort of visage, "Lord Ba'al is my master."

Daniel quietly bowed his head a little and held his tongue. Both he and Teal'c knew that to announce Ba'al's death - or that of any System Lord - would brand them as heretics. Egalitarian or not, these were clearly the phantoms of the Goa'uld's legacy: former slaves who continued to submit themselves long after the beings they had worshiped were gone. There were similar societies SG-1 encountered over the years, and even examples throughout Earth's history, but almost never one with an entire Goa'uld mothership under their control. How _much_ control was a different matter.

"Come. Join us." Yet another invitation to a meal or festival, Daniel opined. However, this one wouldn't likely be interrupted by a visiting Goa'uld. On the contrary...

It could be ended by a single memory.

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : Ba'al's lo'taur in season 5 wasn't necessarily killed. I can't confirm this, but it's possible Shallan was one of several (the "most trusted", though that could refer to former lo'taurs). It wouldn't be out of character for a Goa'uld to have several off-hand to choose from, particularly given the number of servants they keep around at nearly all times on-screen. That's the definition for lo'taur I'm opting for in this story: a handful of servants, each best suited to overseeing an outpost in their god's name, but otherwise not entirely trusted with _every_ bit of information a System Lord has.

Cepheus and his people have been kept isolated on Anubis' P2X-887 for a reason. Ba'al needed to keep his servants from being discovered and converted by the Ori or threatened by the Lucian Alliance. You may argue a Prior would still travel to this world, but to what purpose? It's an uninhabited world only used once as Anubis' base. Ba'al could just as easily have kept their existence secret for the aforementioned reason. That said, there may still be some interesting backstory to work with for next chapter!

Don't worry if you're a stickler for continuity. I'll do my best to follow it as much as I can, and either explain or fix when I don't. Again, a big thank you to everyone who pointed out any plot holes for me! I want to make this story stay true to our favorite universe, so every bit helps. ^-^


	3. Elysium's Void P1: Chapter 3

London wasn't exactly the city they had expected to visit, particularly given that what they knew about the Trust suggested much of their operation had been limited to the United States. Cameron mused this was the reason they rarely left the country. But the Trust's connections to companies overseas made a disturbing amount of sense. With the economy becoming increasingly globalized, the largest and most influential corporations would have international connections. That also explained how Ba'al was able to find Widmore and kidnap his daughter, despite having his headquarters in the U.S.

The taxi pulled up to the old town condo not far off from the metropolitan district. As they stepped out, they had to pull the hoods on their jackets up if they didn't want to be rained on. Seems like this whole day's been nothing but us being rained on, Cameron thought as Carter approached and knocked on the door. He hadn't been on a chase like this since the last time they went after Ba'al on Earth. Funny they didn't know exactly what they were after this time. He hoped they'd figure that part out with this meeting.

Finally, the door opened, and a man with long, wavy hair stood in the doorway with a confused look. Although they had dressed in plainclothes so as not to attract any unwanted attention, Carter and Mitchell were still strangers. If anything, he probably thought they were solicitors or debt collectors. Imagine his surprise when he learned the truth.

"Who are you?" He glanced distrustfully between the two.

"My name is Samantha Carter. This is Cameron Mitchell." Lucky for them, the rain had died down to a light drizzle by the time they arrived, so Carter didn't have to speak too loudly for him to hear. "We're with the United States Air Force."

"The Air Force?" The man looked even more confused than before. "What's this about?"

"Are you Desmond?" Cameron stepped up, recalling one simple detail from Ba'al's flashback.

"Yes," he acknowledged, reiterating, "What do you want?"

"Desmond?" Penelope appeared from another room, looking concerned. "Who is it?"

"Miss Widmore?"

"Hume, actually," Desmond corrected Mitchell, but looked less than amused. "Look, either answer or go away."

"We need to ask about Charles Widmore," Carter blurted in the hopes that would convince Desmond to listen. Instead, his expression went from bewilderment to thinly veiled anger.

"Charles?" Penelope wandered up to Desmond's side and eyed Carter apprehensively. "What do you want to know about my father?"

"The Shepherd's Journal." That caught Penelope's attention, but Desmond clearly didn't understand what it was. Cameron explained, "An old book belonging to Preston Whitmore, your great-great-grandfather." He glanced at Carter for confirmation, but all she could do was look as unsure as he was. "Give or take a 'great'."

"Look, whatever this is about, you-" Before Desmond could tell them off, Penelope offered to let them in. That gesture alone made Desmond wonder if his wife had gone mad.

A few minutes later, they were all sitting in the living room by the Christmas tree Penelope had yet to take down since the holiday ended last month. Cameron thought it reminded him of his own family. They had trouble moving on quickly from the holidays as well. Time itself felt like it slowed to a crawl when he lived back on the farm. Something told him it wasn't entirely different here, especially given how protective Desmond seemed to be.

"Charles didn't think much of it," Penelope explained as she finished pouring them a glass of hot tea. Although Carter seemed reasonably appreciative of it, Cameron couldn't help but scrunch his nose a little. He never really acquired a taste for hot tea, having become accustomed to it being served ice cold and with enough sugar to make coffee look tame. "He hoped it would help him find some kind of island." Desmond noticeably looked away to try and hide his discomfort at its mentioning - something Cameron noted as he ignored his piping hot beverage. "Since it didn't, he locked it away in Whitmore's old manor. It's the only one of his great-grandfather's posessions we couldn't find after he disappeared."

Carter shared a look with Cameron, then explained, "We think the journal may have some archaeological significance." She had tested out their cover story with Mitchell earlier that day, but even she sounded unconvinced when she tried it on Penelope. That much didn't go amiss by Desmond, whose attention had shifted back to the strangers sitting in his and Penelope's living room. "We need it to verify some old underwater ruins we found."

"Why would it matter?" Desmond cleverly pointed out, clearly not buying it. "Why would the American Air Force care about a couple of old ruins?"

"Contrary to popular belief, our government tries to avoid destroying sites with potential historical significance." Cameron tried diverting Desmond from the true purpose of their visit. "We're working with the Navy on a joint project in the north Atlantic. We think we've found the ruins matching a description we read from a part of the book we found in a photograph, but we need to verify its authenticity with the real thing."

"I'm sorry," Penelope repeated. "But, like I said, the book's gone."

They had reached an impasse. How could they continue to get answers without revealing too much? Carter briefly glanced at Cameron, who shot her an almost pleading look. He didn't want her to say anything, but the way she steeled herself told him she was going to anyway.

"Mrs. Hume," Carter began, while Mitchell leaned back into the couch, crossed his arms, and looked at the ceiling. He wasn't too happy with this. "Do you remember the name of the man who captured your father?" Suddenly, Desmond looked alarmed - not because he knew something, but actually quite the opposite. He stared at Penelope as if she'd been keeping a secret from him, but Penny herself appeared as bewildered as he must have felt.

"I'm sorry?" Penelope tentatively asked. "What do you mean?"

"She means-" Cameron had rubbed his hands down his face and finally decided to sit back up and fill in the missing blanks to Carter's inquiry. "The man who told you to torture your father."

"Torture?" Penelope became distressed, and Desmond glared at the two as a warning. "What do you mean 'torture'? Did something happen...?"

"Someone was after the book," Carter explained. "They used you to lure your father to an old building, so he could get some answers about it."

"He said he promised to help you find Desmond." At that, Desmond locked eyes with Cameron, who kept a cool and measured gaze in return. "Looks like he kept that promise."

"I don't know who you two are, or what you really want-"

"Desmond..." Penelope tried to calm him down, but he wasn't hearing it.

"But I think you've overstayed your welcome." Despite Penelope's weak attempts to convince him not to push the two back out on the streets, that was exactly what he intended to do. In turn, Cameron stood and looked just as ready to stand his ground - an opposite and equal reaction. But Carter also didn't want this to end in violence, so she stood and put a hand on Cameron's shoulder, wordlessly expressing that he needed to stand down.

"What Colonel Mitchell here meant to say..." Carter started to explain as the two men glared daggers at one another, their testosterone piercing the silence as much as any scream. "Is that your father was kidnapped and forced to give up some kind of information regarding the Shepherd's Journal. We just want to know if he knew anything else about it, or about the city mentioned in the book."

"No," Penelope insisted as she stood beside Desmond, though she too wanted to end this confrontation without any unnecessary violence. "I mean, not that I'm aware of."

"What about that island he was after?" Cameron didn't miss that detail in Penelope's earlier explanation, and Desmond's seething reaction to it this time only confirmed what he thought. Desmond knew something about this island; more than he wanted to admit.

"That's it." Desmond walked away in a huff, leaving Penelope to look on with concern. When he returned, it was with a phone in his hand. "You two leave before I call the police."

Carter nearly gasped, but she held her own and nodded. With a nudge, she directed Mitchell to listen to him; but only after one last glower shared with Desmond did he finally lead the way back out on to the cold, evening streets. Even Desmond would've noticed that way in Cameron's eye suggesting he was on to Desmond's secret. Both men had secrets they didn't wish to share with the other, and they were none too friendly about it.

Now that they were back to hailing a taxi, however, Cameron took the chance to look behind him just in time to see Desmond pulling the living room curtains closed.

"Why didn't she remember?" Carter noted. Penelope had clearly been in control of her own faculties when Ba'al convinced her to torture Charles. "Do you think Ba'al wiped her memory? Maybe she was tortured by Ba'al before that memory we saw. We could've never guessed that Teal'c had been brainwashed had it not been for Bra'tac."

"The better question is-" Cameron creased his brow and looked deep in thought. "What did Penelope mean when she said her father was looking for some kind of island?"

"You don't think-"

"Desmond knows something he isn't letting on," Cameron interjected. "Malcolm said Widmore disappeared somewhere in the south Pacific some time after his torture. During said torture, he said Desmond had been killed in a sailing competition he sponsored." He gave Carter a look that said it all. "How much you willing to bet he hoped someone would find that island he was after?"

"So you really think this island is the lost city the book mentions?"

"I don't know, but if it is..." Again, Cameron looked over his shoulder. Only Penelope looked out the second story window, though she was trying to be subtle about it. Soon enough, Desmond appeared and gently pulled her away from the window before shutting its curtains all the way as well. "That guy probably has the answer."

* * *

Daniel couldn't remember the last time he'd participated in a feast. He and SG-1 did so often during their early years of exploration. Townsfolk and both former and then-present slaves of the Goa'uld would often invite them because they arrived by stargate. Most knew it as the Ring of the Gods, or something to that effect. Thus, they often assumed SG-1 were sent by their gods, especially since almost nobody else used the stargate network at the time. In a sense, much of the known galaxy belonged to the Goa'uld.

If Cepheus knew this, he did well to hide it. While everyone had gathered in an enormous room on the lowest level of the ha'tak, their wise and powerful 'leader' barely even referenced the Goa'uld after the initial supplications. Instead, he talked about the society they'd built for themselves on P2X-887. Ba'al hid them there to 'protect' them from the rest of the galaxy, which had become a battleground he likened to anarchy. Instead, to assure his closest servants and lo'taurs never became a target, he hid them on a world most had assumed abandoned, then provided them with a ship in case they were ever attacked.

"Our Lord Ba'al has been most generous," Cepheus exclaimed to the emphatic agreement of others. Teal'c looked less than amused, and Daniel found it difficult to maintain his facade as well. "When he thought to kill me once, he spared my life and helped me see the error of my ways. I took his teachings to heart and began to serve as his nal'kor."

When Daniel glanced at Teal'c, the latter could only look slightly confused as he translated what the linguist already knew: "Word bearer." Teal'c didn't recognize the term either.

"So, you were a messenger?" Daniel inquired without much tact.

"More than that." Cepheus grinned, but quickly looked down and regained his professional composure. "I journey to other worlds to offer others a chance to settle with us and one day become gods, as the rest of us live in hope."

"The Goa'uld are not gods." Many heads turned and looked at Teal'c with mixed expressions of barely constrained hostility and outright surprise. "They are parasites."

But this didn't shake Cepheus' conviction in the slightest. "Yes, they possess us. But in so doing, they give us more knowledge and understanding than we could ever gain as we are now." His gaze wandered over the table at each person, hoping his strength of will would relax the others enough to avoid a serious incident. "And they offer us extended life. Even immortality." By then, his eyes settled on Teal'c. "Doesn't that earn them the right to be seen as gods?"

Before Teal'c could answer, though it appeared he'd rather glare daggers into the naive human, Daniel interjected. "So you occasionally step through the gate." Cepheus confirmed that with a nod. "Then you have to know what's happened in the past five years."

"I know the galaxy was in chaos." Cepheus both looked and sounded as if he were genuinely sorry for the people beyond his world. Then he smiled and raised his head again. "But now, everything is well again. The worlds are at peace, as our lords intended."

Teal'c had heard enough. He stood and left the room without saying much else, only giving Cepheus one last glare before stepping away. Daniel watched sympathetically but remained, if only to see what information he could coax out of Ba'al's former servant.

Neither Daniel nor Cepheus said anything for a time, before Cepheus finally mentioned, "Your friend should be more careful. We do not persecute one for their beliefs, but there are some here who might think differently."

Surprised, Daniel asked, "You don't?"

"Oh, of course not." Cepheus laughed as though the mere thought had been preposterous. "How is one to learn the error of their ways if they hate the messenger?"

There was a certain logic to it, Daniel didn't want to admit. Some of the most successful missionaries and envoys of his world preached respect and tolerance. Those soothing words and kind dispositions frequently opened people up to manipulation, especially if they were in dire need. Still, the 'Alcuin of York' method far outshined the 'fire and brimstone' one. At least it meant they didn't have to worry about captivity or execution... unless it was a trick.

"What master did you serve?" Cepheus filled the brief silence that followed as he broke a piece of bread and laid it on his plate. Daniel choked on his food and felt the blood drain from his face. "I recognize you. You were the lo'taur serving Lord Yu, were you not?"

"Uh..." Daniel found himself at a loss for words, causing Cepheus to stop and give him a look. What could he say? Ba'al's former lo'taur might've blamed Daniel for the distinct turn that meeting of the gods took. "You may have me confused for someone else."

"No. I don't think so." Cepheus scrutinized Daniel's reaction, ignoring his meal for the moment. "You were the one who seemed to fear implantation. Then Lord Yu was attacked."

"If you know I served Lord Yu," Daniel started with a touch of annoyance. "Why are you asking about whom I served?"

Cepheus chuckled and took a small bite out of the piece of bread on his plate before answering, all while pouring himself a refill of the purple wine. "It's clear you didn't serve Yu, or you would not have attacked him." While laying the jug back down, he noticed the look of confusion on Daniel's face. "Even I was tasked with killing a Goa'uld for my master once."

Although both astonished and intrigued by what Cepheus revealed, Daniel had to focus on the matter at hand. Surely he couldn't tell the lo'taur that it was a tok'ra operation. Even the tolerance of Cepheus' odd community had to end somewhere. Hell, it was likely each of them once served one Goa'uld or another. That much they all had in common. So introducing his ties to those who actively worked to kill _all_ Goa'uld wouldn't go over well.

"Let's just say, he had high ambitions." In Daniel's mind, he thought any Goa'uld hoping to assassinate another might either be trying to get rid of a rival or hoping to regain their former status. System Lords often had minor lords under their command. However, he couldn't help but recall Jacob and Selmak's insistence he kill them all. Even Sarah. "But no wisdom."

To that, Cepheus continued to look untroubled. It was the most bizarre thing, and Daniel had seen some crazy things over the years. Then again, not all the galaxy could be as comical and exaggerated as the melodramatic Goa'uld made it seem. A quizzical response and lack of extreme, intentional 'evil' made these people sound more real. More human.

"Well," Cepheus finally said as he looked around the table at all the others who were happily talking amongst themselves, unafraid that Cepheus or the guards would kill them for talking out of turn. "The past no longer matters. Our masters are at peace, and so are we."

* * *

"Nope," Mitchell grumbled as he finished his search on the internet with a fairly old laptop he brought with them. Carter had one too, and they were both sitting across from each other in a small, quiet cafe that evening doing research. "Can't find anything."

"Well, there has to be something." Carter continued typing into the computer, even as Cameron leaned back and stretched his arms out. "Charles Widmore has connections stretching back to the Trust. Surely we'd have something on him."

"Come on, Sam." Mitchell finally leaned forward and gave her an exhausted look. "We've been at it all morning... and I haven't even had my coffee yet."

"Wait." Carter thought she found something. "It's an email from N.I.D. headquarters, marked anonymous." She glanced up at Mitchell, adding, "It's Malcolm."

"Why would Malcolm be sending you an anonymous email?"

"I don't know." Sam shook her head slightly, then opened the email. After some time of scanning it over, she started to look worried.

"What?" Cameron sat up, ready to spring up and out of the cafe in a heartbeat if need-be. "What is it?" When Carter looked up at him, much of the color from her face had faded. If that wasn't cause for concern, Mitchell didn't know what was.

"Malcolm says he was just interrogated for over three hours by his superiors."

"That doesn't make any sense," Mitchell reasoned. "The NID's been clean for years."

"Not as clean as we thought." Carter stared wide-eyed at the email. "He says he did some checking on Widmore's file after we left. His company had an associate called the Hanso Foundation. Thomas Mittelwerk, a former CEO, made some sort of biological weapon before police tried to catch him. He released it on a village in Sri Lanka a year later. Traces of it were found in their water, but there were no bodies."

"How can that be? And what does any of that have to do with Mr. Widmore?"

"It isn't about him." For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Carter looked up at him with serious concern. "The weapon Mittelwerk used was based on technology from Area 51."

"A leak?" Mitchell raised an eyebrow.

"More than that." Carter continued to read. "Malcolm traced the chemical back to Alaraph Pharmaceuticals. They were one of the companies under Ba'al while he was in charge of the Trust. Whatever this chemical was, it used nanites to deliver a chemical released by the Goa'uld symbiote when it possesses a body... a chemical that suppresses the host's mind with the neural pattern of the Goa'uld releasing it."

"You're not thinking..."

"... that Ba'al had something to do with it?" Carter swallowed the growing lump in her throat. "Or that we might have a village of Goa'uld running free?"

Without waiting to see what Carter would do, Mitchell quickly stood, shut his laptop, and carried it with him to the car they'd rented earlier that day. "This day just keeps getting better and better," he mumbled sarcastically to himself once he was out of earshot.

As if the universe had an even worse sense of humor, Mitchell heard a voice call out to him from an alleyway to his left. When he turned, it was far too late to avoid the fist swung in his face. Before his computer could even hit the ground, he felt a pair of hands grab his collar and pull him into the alleyway before an arm pressed him against the wall. Mitchell had to blink the daze away before he would recognize the man who'd attacked him.

"Who do you work for?!" Desmond demanded with a strong but quiet voice, as if he could avoid the attention of any passer-bys who barely gave notice. "What are you hopin' to find?!"

"We told you." Annoyed, Mitchell reiterated his original answer. "We're with the U.S. Air Force..."

"You're lying!"

"No, I'm not." The colonel kept his cool. "Why would I lie to you?"

"Because you're hiding somethin'." Desmond's furious expression belied his true intent. "You know about the Island."

"Colonel!" Carter finally stepped around the corner in time to notice. Her voice distracted Desmond long enough for Mitchell to break Desmond's hold with a punch to the stomach, followed by a smack to the jaw that would leave the other man unconscious on the pavement. Carter ran over and checked his pulse, while Mitchell wiped a spot of blood off his face. "He's alive." She looked up at him like he was crazy. "Was that really necessary?"

"You ask him," Mitchell answered casually. After a brief glance out at the street, where two old women stood with their dogs, watching, Cameron crouched and took Desmond by the arm, gesturing for Carter to take the other. "Let's get him back to our place." Before Carter could argue, he added, "We need to mend some bridges."

* * *

After leaving the reception hall, Teal'c wandered through the Ha'tak vessel without being stopped once by any of the others. The situation worried him. While serving as First Prime to Apophis, he thought he'd come to know the Goa'uld and their human worshipers. There were two main castes: the workers and the royal servants. Though the workers lived in fear of their gods, the servants revered them. Yet in each case, they would fervently reject the possibility of worshiping another until their god had been defeated... and even then, not always.

Walking through the familiar corridors brought back memories, both good and terrible. Despite his actions under service of the Goa'uld, he saved countless lives with SG-1. They'd destroyed many vessels of this form and structure. But no matter how useful they could be in the fights to come, he felt the way many a Jaffa did. They were symbols of their oppressors, and such symbols deserved to be broken with time.

Pressing the button on a keypad next to a large door, he wandered into what had basically been the bridge. He knew there'd be no point in trying to steal the vessel, as they could easily lock out the controls with a password known only to their commander. But he thought at least to have a closer look at the throne. Unlike the others, this one hadn't been elevated. Certainly, it seemed odd to have it be so low to the floor, but these were odd people.

One thing caught his eye as he stepped in front of the chair, however. Behind the chair, embedded in the back wall with a soft light shining down on it, sat a tablet of marvelous emerald on a slanted surface. Cautiously, Teal'c approached it, hands held behind his back as he regarded the unfamiliar text with curiosity. There were a few symbols he recognized, such as that of Thoth, the Go'auld and a few of the System Lords. But apart from that, much of it remained illegible.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Teal'c looked up to see who it was. With luck, it was only Daniel, who noted, "Teal'c. Yeah, I thought you'd be up here." As he stepped up to his old friend's side, he looked back over at the control console. "Any luck?"

"No," he willfully omitted part of the truth to get to other matters. He turned back to the emerald tablet. "What can you make of this?"

Daniel followed Teal'c's gaze and froze when he recognized the language. "It's in ancient Akkadian, interspersed with ancient Goa'uld." Briefly, he shared a surprised glance with Teal'c, then proceeded to read what he could. "It looks like it describes what some of the System Lords were doing on Earth after the human revolt against Ra. Among others, Anat, Amun, Heru'ur and Setesh were left behind. They manipulated events in ancient history, but were opposed by various factions. One's a reference to the Christian Biblical land of Nod, while another seems to be analagous to a group of assassins. The Pythagoreans and a splinter faction called the Order of Mount Ithos were also involved."

As Teal'c frowned deeply and listened, Daniel continued. "They were apparently fighting over an artifact called the Eye. Whatever it was, it was tied to..." When he paused, Teal'c eyed him expectantly. "The Sons of Apsu." Quickly, he fumbled through his jacket for his camera, which he finally found and used to take as best a photo as he could.

Again, the door opened, and in walked Cepheus and two of his bodyguards equipped with staff weapons. Daniel hastily shoved the camera back within his jacket pocket. Although the threat was clear, neither of the guards pointed or fired their weapons on the intruders. Instead, Cepheus only held his arms behind him in a manner resembling Teal'c, and smiled wryly. "I see you've found our most treasured artifact." He wandered over to it and stood not far off from Daniel, his own gaze falling upon it. "It was a gift from Ba'al."

"Can you read it?" Daniel asked, his brow creased.

"Sure," Cepheus answered with a shrug as he met Daniel's look. "Lord Ba'al translated it for us. He says the text speaks of a time when our people were led through history by the gods. It says we are a special people whose destiny has always been written by our gods."

"That is not what it says," Teal'c stated with irritation.

"Is that so?" Cepheus tilted his head and regarded the Jaffa as a person might observe an animal in a zoo. Neither of SG-1 missed the analogy. "Perhaps you should read it again. We were always led to believe in the gods. Now, we are ready to take our place among them."

"Cepheus," Daniel interjected hesitantly. "Are you sure that's what the gods want? Don't you think they'd get more out of us if we stayed in their debt?"

"We can't stay in their debt forever." Cepheus chuckled and raised his hands to either side of him, like a prophet about to deliver a message. "With our lords gone, we're to be the new masters of the galaxy."

Teal'c narrowed his eyes. "Is that what Ba'al told you?"

"Yes." Cepheus practically grinned at the thought. "He knew that one day, our people would surpass them. So he left us the mandate to bring others to our side, humans from other worlds who served other gods, to take their place when the time came."

Daniel quickly reached out and put a hand on Teal'c's arm when the latter moved to strike the young man. "Then you know nothing," his Jaffa compatriot uttered with vile. "For it was _my_ people's desire for freedom that overcame the Goa'uld."

"Uh, Teal'c," Daniel warned as the guards gripped their staff weapons more tightly. "Let's uh... talk about this later. Right now, we need to know if our host would be gracious enough to allow us to return through the stargate."

Again, Cepheus didn't seem concerned by Teal'c's initial outburst. Instead, he looked to Daniel, a fellow human and, by all rights, more needing of his attention anyway. "Of course!" He waved one of his guards forward and had him stand off to the side. "Phineus here can escort you to the gate. Should you ever wish to visit again, by all means. I'm afraid I can't promise we'll be here, but I'm certain we'll meet again."

"Indeed," Teal'c opined with a threatening tone before walking past the guard, bumping shoulders with him, and continuing on out through the door. Daniel followed after sharing one final look with Cepheus, a hint of suspicion in the former's eye as he recognized that look.

It was the same look he saw in Ra when the System Lord planned to send a bomb to Earth.


	4. Elysium's Void P1: Chapter 4

They were back at the hotel by the time Desmond awoke. His head no doubt felt like it would split open if he moved another inch. Still, he'd gotten into enough fights over the years to be able to ignore it. When he raised his head, he found himself remarkably untied to anything. Instead, he was in a bed, albeit laid haphazardly over the blanket.

"Well, look who's awake," Cameron quipped as Desmond looked up at him. His new friend certainly seemed confused. "Mornin', sunshine."

"Where am I?"

"It's alright," Carter chimed in from a chair next to a table on a different side of the room. "You're safe."

Narrowing his eyes, Desmond asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

"Well, you didn't really leave us any choice." Mitchell crossed his arms and finally turned in his seat to face his British counterpart. "Sorry about the bump on the head."

Desmond grit his teeth. "Who are you people? What do you want?"

"We told you..."

"No, you didn't." Desmond stood as if he were ready to grab Cameron by the collar again and throw him against the wall. Luckily, this time, the colonel calmly remained in his seat. "I can tell when someone's holding back. Charles kept things from me as well."

Carter spoke next, hoping to ease the tension. "We're not working for Widmore."

"Then what aren't you telling me?" Desmond glanced back at her, but ultimately faced the other man. "What are you after?"

Cameron sighed. "Look, how about we start over? We're not here to take you or Mrs. Hume away. We're just looking for answers."

"Then you've a fine way of going about findin' them, brotha."

"Alright, fine."

"Cam..." Carter frowned as she looked over at Mitchell. This couldn't go on forever. They were making little to no progress, and without Desmond's help, they might get nowhere. But at the same time, she didn't want Cameron to say something he might regret. Everything they knew about the stargate and the Goa'uld were under the non-disclosure agreement they'd signed. It wasn't their place to tell someone the truth. At least... not the whole truth.

Either way, that wouldn't stop Mitchell. "The truth is, we're trying to find the Shephard's Journal because we believe it will lead us to the lost continent of Atlantis."

Desmond initially smirked. He would've laughed had the situation been any different. "You're serious?"

"It's imperative we find it." Carter decided Cameron knew the risk and took it for a reason. She'd follow along, but only to a point. "It may hold answers to a few of our questions."

"What questions?"

"Like how it got there, what happened to it, what this 'Heart' it spoke of is..." Cameron listed off a few.

Surprised, Desmond asked, "Heart...?"

"Mr. Whitmore launched an expedition to find something called the Heart of Atlantis, but it didn't turn up anything." Carter recalled the one page in the photograph they saw showing writing in something akin to standard Ancient. Daniel translated it, but the image in the center spoke a thousand words, even if cryptic. "But he may have been on to something."

"Do you think this island you mentioned could be related?" Desmond stared at Cameron, and for a moment, it looked like he would lash out at him again. But instead, his British 'friend' stood there, hands to his sides, mouth slightly agape.

"So... you really don't know?" He could hardly believe it. But after years of being dragged between two mens' schemes, it was hard to trust anyone who wanted to find the island. "Charles looked for the island because of a light. Some sort of electromagnetic... thing... at the heart of the island. Some group called the Dharma Initiative were studying it before I marooned there."

Cameron glanced at Carter for an explanation. "Electromagnetic?"

Carter just looked at him and shrugged with a frown. "There isn't much in nature that can generate an EM field."

"It wasn't natural... at least, not completely." Desmond lowered himself back down to sit on the bed, leaning against his arms which rested on his knees. He barely gave either of the Americans a look as he bowed his head slightly and recalled, "They told me it's been there for centuries. Somehow, it's a link between this world and the next."

"Next? You mean an afterlife?"

"I... I think so." It was difficult to piece together in his mind. Desmond recalled being torn between the island and some other reality, but the details had faded like it had just been a dream. "Charles wanted me to release the light. As soon as I did, everything on the island became... mortal."

Both Mitchell and Carter shared a look. Cameron, especially, seemed to think this Desmond was as crazy as his uncle, who always got drunk and made terrible conspiracy theories. On the other hand, Carter silently reminded him that they were in charge of a team that traveled through a wormhole to other planets to stop threats to the galaxy that were almost comical in nature. They'd even blown up a sun! But even Carter had to admit, nothing of what Desmond said made even the slightest bit of sense.

"This Atlantis you're after..." Desmond finally gazed back up between them. "Is the Heart you mentioned another one of those?"

Initially unable to answer, Carter helpfully speculated, "Maybe. From what we've been able to find out, it seems like it may be a power source."

"Is it contained?" Desmond looked and sounded worried.

"That's part of what we hope to find out." Cameron wanted to ask more about Desmond's experience with the phenomena he mentioned, but he knew there'd be a trade-off. Regardless, he felt it right to bring into the fold. If only in part. "You know, we could use your help. If I get my boss's approval, what would you say to helping us locate it?"

"What about Penelope?"

"We'd... rather keep this between us. The fewer of us who know, the better."

"Why?"

"We believe someone else is after Atlantis." Carter didn't want to delve much further than that into it, but she could tell right away that Cameron would add to it.

"Someone with a lot of influence."

Desmond couldn't stop looking like a deer in the headlights, even if he tried. Whatever the man had been through, it took quite the mental toll on him. "You think they're after the Heart then?"

"The book said it could generate limitless energy." Carter recalled, though she didn't want to go into more detail - certainly not to reveal the real reasons why they were looking for the journal. "That might be enough reason for them to go looking for it."

"And what about you?" Desmond faced Mitchell with his brow creased with concern. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Assuming it's still there and isn't protecting anyone, we may have a use for it." Cameron readily admitted, wondering how well it could help defend them against this future threat Daniel mentioned. But, with Carter's disapproving look, he knew it'd be best to withhold that bit of information for the time being.

Desmond shook his head and answered, "I'm not helping you or anyone else try to take it... not if it's what Charles was after."

"You don't have to help us retrieve it." Carter stepped in again, as usual, to calm things down before they could get worse. "All we need right now is a location."

"... and some answers," Cameron mumbled.

Desmond blinked. "If you folks aren't working for Widmore..." He referred to the company, which still stood under the watchful gaze of his selected heir. "Who are you working for?"

"We already told-"

"You told me you were working for the U.S. Air Force, but I don't buy it. There's something you're not telling me." Desmond knew when he was being deceived. He'd already pointed that out earlier, but now, he included the addendum, "I'll help on one condition: you tell me everything." Whether he truly cared about the two colonels' affiliation or if he simply wanted to learn more about the 'light' he claimed he saw on the island, nobody could know except him. "And you leave Penny out of it."

Before making their decision, Cameron and Carter shared a look once again. They had to do something. They'd hit too many brick walls with their investigation already. If Desmond was their only chance to break through this one, they'd have to take it. Carter reluctantly agreed. "We have to check with our general first. But once you're greenlit, you'll be good to go."

Cameron smirked. "So how's about you sit tight and maybe we'll both get our answers."

* * *

Daniel spent an inordinate amount of time in his office going over the photographs he took. From what he could translate, there were far too many loose threads and not enough answers. It had all been a little overwhelming. So, instead, he focused on one thing at a time. Following his debriefing, he went straight to work.

Mesopotamia had always been a bit of a mystery to him. Egyptologists favored Egypt, but they always seemed to miss the land between the Tigris and Euphrates. Such a place boasted more undiscovered history and architecture than people realized. The cities built there from before the Bronze Age and during may have been older than Egypt's... with the exception of the over-10,000-year-old Pyramids in Giza. Despite not having the greatest knowledge of its history and mythos, he knew enough to get started. Being the head archaeologist of SGC's flag team, he had to at least know the 'basics' of many different cultures and legends. It made identifying the Goa'uld easier... at least early on.

A knock on his door barely distracted him as he regarded the photo he'd uploaded to his computer with a hand on his chin and a contemplative gaze. "Come in."

When whoever it was didn't afford him an answer, he chanced to look away for just a moment, if only to see who it was. "Teal'c," he exclaimed once he recognized the tall, looming form of his friend. Although the Jaffa who'd become an invaluable member of SG-1 often wore a serious expression, it was hard to ignore the look of dismay in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Everything." Teal'c also had a tendency to be a little vague, but as he approached and settled on a spot beside Dr. Jackson, he eyed the image before continuing. "When I was First Prime, I saw many of your kind taken as slaves for the Goa'uld. In each instance, those who were chosen as part of their lord's harem would remain loyal... to the death." Then his bewildered gaze shifted from the tablet to Daniel. "But I have never seen servants who would speak as Cepheus did."

"Yeah..." Daniel carefully agreed as he looked back at the image. "Ba'al never struck me as the type of System Lord who would teach respect for others. But aside from a few instances in our history, polytheistic cultures would often give praise to more than one god. Given what we know about the Goa'uld, this doesn't seem like it should've been the case."

Teal'c fell silent again. It was only when Daniel happened to glance back in his direction, just as the Jaffa had bowed his head in thought, that he spoke again. "They worship false gods, as mine once did. Yet they remain united in spite of it."

"Strange, isn't it?" Daniel crossed his arms and looked back at Teal'c. "The question is, what do we do about it?" By the time Teal'c raised his head to give his friend the attention he deserved, Daniel had explained. "I saw the look in Cepheus' face when I was brought before Ra. It's the same look I saw in Apophis and the rest of the System Lords." His eyes were drawn to the photographs again, where they narrowed. "He's planning to come here."

Before he could continue, an alarm rung out across the base. There was an unscheduled, incoming wormhole. Neither of them knew what to expect, so they left the office in a hurry. Once they were in the control room, they'd get their answer. "Bra'tac's IDC," an officer noted as they approached, General Landry already slightly ahead of the two. As soon as Landry gave the order, the officer opened the iris and the soldiers in the gate room got ready, in case it turned out to be a false code. Luckily for them, it wasn't.

As Bra'tac emerged from the wormhole, Teal'c quickly left Daniel's side and wandered out one of the side doors just as the wormhole collapsed. "Master Bra'tac!" He exclaimed, causing Bra'tac to smile widely and embrace him like a father to a cherished son. Although they had spoken many times in the years following Bra'tac's injury from the traitorous ambush at Dar Eshkalon, Teal'c wouldn't forget - or treat lightly - the memory of Bra'tac declaring him 'the son he never had'. It was one of the proudest moments of his life.

"Teal'c," Bra'tac responded in his usually chipper way. Unfortunately, that lasted about as long as a pat on the shoulder. "I am sorry we could not meet under better circumstances." Teal'c looked questioningly at him as Daniel stepped in. Bra'tac barely noticed. "The Council has sent me to present an ultimatum." Then he looked at Daniel with a grim countenance. "They say you must hand over the false god, or our alliance with the tau'ri is over."

* * *

Minutes later, they had gathered in the briefing room to hear what Bra'tac had to say. None of them were comfortable with the situation, but none more so than Teal'c.

"How could they have learned of our meeting with the Tok'ra?" Teal'c questioned.

"Apparently, they have an informant. Someone on the inside." Bra'tac frowned and looked around the table at both Daniel and General Landry. "They believe you are conspiring with the Tok'ra to use his knowledge against us."

Daniel creased his brow. "Why?"

"The Tau'ri have been nothing but loyal to us as allies," Teal'c added.

"I know," Bra'tac conceded with a sigh. "But there have been attacks on some of our outer worlds. The moderates among us believe Ba'al's former host may hold the answers."

"And the fanatics?" Daniel leaned forward to listen.

"They have used their knowledge of your covert visit with the Tok'ra as evidence that you are withholding knowledge of his location from us." Then Bra'tac looked to Landry. "When the Council came to you over a year ago and asked he be released to us-"

"We told them the Tok'ra had lost him," Landry reiterated what he knew. "Now the question is, why would your people jeapordize over five years of peace for a man who had no control over his own actions once Ba'al was in command?"

Bra'tac shook his head and glanced back at Teal'c. "I wish it were that simple."

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Daniel narrowed his eyes. He never thought he'd find himself disbelieving the closest Jaffa ally they had since Teal'c.

Bra'tac said nothing, his head only bowed in silence before Teal'c spoke. "Tell us, old friend."

"I did not want to be the one to say this." Bra'tac finally faced Teal'c, not even bothering to hide his sadness. "Your son, Rya'c, was on the world that was attacked. We did not find his body among the dead, but those we found..." Again, the old master shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what he'd witnessed. "They were torn open, entrails scattered about the battlefield. This was more than a simple attack. It was a /harvest/."

Time seemed to freeze around Teal'c as his blood went cold. As Bra'tac explained, whoever attacked their colonies apparently fed on the Jaffa and stole their symbionts. Even had Rya'c survived, he'd be used as a food source if they didn't find and rescue him quickly. Daniel also knew this and sat up, ready to help any way he could. But he noticed something else.

"You said there were no symbionts? Not even bones?"

"No," Bra'tac repeated with as much concern as before. "Some of us have turned to Tretonin, but not all of us have accepted the benefits it provides. There have even been recommendations by certain members of the Council that we use the Sarcophagus to return to human form, though they are a minority."

Although the differing views of the Jaffa in their new republic fascinated Dr. Jackson, he couldn't help but think back on Cepheus and that look he had in his eye.

"Dr. Jackson." Landry's voice cut through Daniel's reverie and made him look up. "Is there anything on that tablet you found that could explain any of this?"

"Maybe." Jackson shot a glance at Bra'tac. "But the tablet only explains what the Goa'uld were doing on Earth, except..." As Landry eyed him expectantly, Daniel tentatively said, "The sons of Apsu."

There were too many possibilities, Daniel realized. The only people outside of Earth the tablet mentioned were the Anunnaki banished to a world called Nibiru. But although it referred to them as a species related to the Goa'uld, it said nothing about their culture or biology. Were they cannibals who preyed on others? Something told him that, since they were also somehow tied to the Ancients, that wasn't likely. On the other hand...

"I must return to Chulak." Teal'c sought permission from General Landry, but he looked like he'd go with or without it. In any case, the new capital of the Free Jaffa Nation following the destruction of Dakara would be the perfect place to start an investigation and find his son. Landry gave a short nod, and it wasn't long before Teal'c stood and wandered out to the gate room. Bra'tac stood slowly and looked between the two humans almost apologetically before following. But Daniel remained seated staring off into space.

"You're not going with him?" Landry questioned.

"Huh?" Daniel looked up and then blinked, shaking his head. "Oh, no. No... I need to call in a favor." Before Landry could ask, he explained, "Back before I joined the program, I had a professor in historical linguistics. He was the reason I published my theory."

"You mean your theory that the Pyramids were landing pads for alien spacecraft," Landry finished that sentence with an amused smirk. "Was he one of those who also said humans were put on this Earth by ancient astronauts?"

Jackson would've laughed, but he couldn't help but recall the circumstances that led to him making the decision that changed his life. "He once told me he'd found an old tablet in Iraq. It supposedly described a war between us and the gods. After millions were killed, the gods 'ascended into the heavens' within their temples... 'chariots of fire'."

"The Goa'uld motherships," Landry easily filled in the blanks.

"He said he'd lost it in the Gulf War. I remember him telling me that it was just a myth, but we could learn from it. How important it is to overcome tyrants, and why we should be careful what we look for." If Landry didn't know what Daniel was talking about, he'd easily conclude the archaeologist lost his mind. "I saw photographs of Dr. Langford's research. They were supposed to be destroyed, but my professor somehow held on to them. So... when I realized he wasn't going to share them with the world, I tried to use them as evidence. Everybody thought I'd doctored the images; faked them to support my theory."

"Looks like they were wrong."

"Yeah..." Daniel said, again lost in thought. But this time, he quickly snapped out of it without Landry's input and stood. "General, I'd like to find out what he knew."

"Why are you asking me?" Landry chuckled, not far from noting how Teal'c went about his business with or without the general's approval.

"Because Dr. Meroe disappeared. But I know how to find him." Daniel stared intently at Landry. "And I'm going to need your help."

* * *

It had been many years since Dr. Daniel Jackson presented evidence to support his theory. Shortly after his largest presentation, one attended by many scholars of some renown, the strange archaeologist vanished. So, it only made sense that he'd end up back where it all started.

"To answer the question that all of you have been thinking," Daniel began his presentation at the lecturn, eyes wandering over the crowd. "No, I'm not dead. No, the government hasn't silenced me... and no, I wasn't taken aboard an alien ship." That elicited a chuckle from his audience. His grandfather always thought it important to start a presentation off with humor. Unfortunately, that didn't stop him from being laughed out of the archaeological community. "I've been searching... for answers. Answers to all of my questions.

"They were right in front of me all along. I found a beautiful wife and settled down." As he said that, Daniel thought back to Sha're and those wonderful years he spent as a married man in a simple life. He could tell that while much of the audience felt happy for him, some were confused. "But you didn't come all this way to hear about that." If it wasn't for his plan, he'd have already felt a twinge of regret.

Rather than dwell on his own past, he switched on the projector to reveal another's. "This is an ancient tablet dating from the bronze age in Mesopotamia. It's composed of carved emerald and written in a dialect of Akkadian." The images displayed the tablet Cepheus and his ilk kept enshrined in the command center of their 'temple'. "The text identifies a number of alien beings who were involved in Earth's history.

"Take note of how it mentions the 'sons of Apsu' and the 'Anunnaki'." A second image projected next to the one of the tablet, showing a Babylonian depiction of Anu. As Daniel spoke, it would cycle through a list of images, each one of a different Mesopotamian god. "Mythology tells us these were the gods who created and protected humanity, but also how they treated us... like slaves. Although most gods throughout history are shown to think of us as their thralls, they're almost never depicted as our task masters. Now, the tablet..."

Daniel brought the image of the tablet back to the foreground. "The tablet goes on to claim these beings were from the stars. They come from a world that transliterates to Una." Further slides and projections revealed the rest of the story. A vessel fell from the sky on Una, carrying a few passengers who died in the crash - each described as very thin and short, with heads far too big for their shoulders. "Anu and his brother, Enki, uncovered the secrets of the craft and found it to be powered by gold." And the spacecraft knew where to find some...

Many years later, Anu's tribe settled on Earth and used their reptilian slaves to mine for gold. By now, many of the more esteemed archaeologists had already stood and left, but it wasn't until Daniel mentioned how the Anunnaki presumably created humanity to mine the gold that the rest of his audience began to vacate the premises. "Well, think about it!" He called out after them, eyes still wandering over the crowd, even with their backs turned. "Why else would we be so drawn to gold and jewelery?"

Even he didn't believe his own theory, but he had to make it seem like he did. Just as the last of the crowd left in a hurry, it appeared as if there'd be none left. None, that is, except for an old man standing near the back of the room, a critical eye fixated on Daniel. When the latter noticed, he thought it familiar, even if the face was different. Certain he might've found the answer he was truly searching for, Daniel stepped off the stage and narrowed his eyes.

"Can I help you?" Daniel asked innocuously, unwilling to risk giving away his intentions right away.

Slowly, almost apprehensively, the stranger wandered forward. When he stopped at arms' length from Dr. Jackson, he finally answered. "Perhaps I can help you."

Before Daniel could ask what he meant, the man reached into his jacket and withdrew what Daniel initially feared would be a weapon. Thankfully, it wasn't. Instead, it appeared to be an orb coated in gold and marked with oddly straight lines behind which a light softly glowed. He didn't have a chance to admire it further, or even ask about it, before the light from within shined more brightly and ensnared Daniel in a similar glow. When he looked up again, it wasn't the old man he saw, but rather, Professor Monroe.

"Where did you find this tablet?" Meroe questioned, and Daniel felt inexplicably compelled to answer, as if in a trance. "Altaria," Meroe repeated thoughtfully. "So you found the gate after all." With a weary sigh, he looked down at the orb glowing in his hand. "It pains me to do this, after all you must have accomplished. But I cannot leave the secrets of Anu in your hands." Unable to speak, yet fully cognizant of what his former mentor suggested, Daniel tried to fight the mental control the strange orb put him under. "I will erase this stain from your memory. You're not ready to learn the whole truth."

Just as Meroe raised the Apple in his hand, soldiers burst out of the doorways to either side of the stage and from the entrance behind him, guns aimed and ready to be fired. As soon as they appeared, Meroe's concentration faltered, and Daniel found himself free of the glow that held him frozen in place as the 'good doctor' questioned him. With the tables now turned, Daniel could blink and regain his bearings.

"You're Dr. Meroe, aren't you?" Again, the image of his professor had faded, leaving behind only an unfamiliar old man who looked to be terribly unsurprised, though inwardly, he no doubt felt rather startled or ticked at his own lack of readiness.

Meroe looked Daniel in the eye and frowned the same way Daniel remembered he would whenever the professor felt disappointment toward one of his students. The effect would've been heart-wrenching had Daniel not come as far as he had.

"You're not ready," Meroe repeated in an almost judgmental tone. "None of you are."

For a while, Daniel merely stood there and matched Meroe's glare with an uncertain one of his own. One of the soldiers swiftly approached and snatched the device from the old man's hand. Finally, Daniel reached into his jacket pocket, withdrew a tiny earpiece, and placed it in his ear. "Odyssey, we've got him." Crossing his arms in a manner reminiscent of what he subconsciously learned from Meroe, he said, "Whenever you're ready."

As the light of the Asgard beam engulfed both of them, Daniel found himself silently wishing he didn't have to disappoint his old mentor again.

* * *

The Council chambers echoed with dozens of voices, each no less anxious than the next. "We must find the ones who did it and bring them to justice!" "Where do we start? We don't even know who they are, much less where!" "Station more security on the border worlds! At least we'll be prepared next time!" "There aren't enough warriors for that. Most of our brothers and sisters died in the revolution." "Then withdraw from the colonies! Bring our families home!" "Coward! You want us to flee? Before we've even tried to face the enemy?"

By the time Teal'c and Bra'tac entered, the Speaker of the Council, Jo'rel, rapped a metal ball into the table several times until the senators quieted down. As they slowly began to sit, as per the customary response to the Speaker's demand for silence, Jo'rel spoke.

"We all know of these attacks. Not one of us hasn't suffered a loss." Jo'rel narrowed her eyes and looked over the gathered Jaffa, most of whom weren't happy with her appointment. "But if we let ourselves be torn apart so soon after gaining our freedom, what good would we be against an enemy that can stand against us? How would we defeat them if we can't even defeat ourselves?" Perhaps it was her willingness to challenge even the most influential Jaffa that made her the perfect candidate for Speaker. "We are joined today by Masters Teal'c and Bra'tac. They bring word from the tau'ri."

"What good is the word of a people who go behind our backs?!" The senator who shouted was none other than Salgor, chief of the opposition to their alliance with the tau'ri.

"It is precisely because we fight among ourselves that the tau'ri have withheld the location of Ba'al's host!" Teal'c stepped up to the center of the room, though he knew it wasn't his turn to speak. Still, Jo'rel wasn't about to stand in his way, nor anyone else. He was, after all, an exception as the hero of the rebellion. Even if some would dispute it. "They do not want to see an innocent man destroyed because of the petty demands for revenge!"

"Who are you to look down on us?" Salgor stood up, boldly doing what none of the others dared to do. "Lest we forget, it was you who killed Arkad for your own personal reasons!"

Teal'c suddenly felt his rebuttle get caught in his throat. Salgor noticed and smiled.

"Ah, that's the Teal'c we know." He crossed his arms in front of him. "Strong and silent."

"Arkad would have betrayed this Council to the Ori had Teal'c not intervened," Bra'tac stepped in, a sympathetic glance at his protege. "Teal'c did the right thing."

"For the wrong reasons." Salgor's answer made Jo'rel smirk back at him.

"Are you saying your quest for vengeance is no longer valid?"

"I'm saying," Salgor began with a belated sigh. "That Arkad killed 32 Jaffa. Ba'al killed millions."

"Ba'al received his punishment." Teal'c sounded breathless. To be reminded of another loss he could never undo had to be difficult. "The host is innocent."

"Maybe so." This time, it wasn't Salgor who spoke, but rather Bal'kor, leader of the moderates. "But the System Lords must've known about this threat to our colonies. They certainly seemed to know about us." The symbiotes. Odd for a carnivorous species to tear out the symbiotes but leave the rest of the body intact... so to speak. "Whatever these creatures are, if the System Lords knew about them, so would their hosts. The memories would remain intact even after an extraction."

Bra'tac shook his head. "We cannot ask this of him now. His memories are unintelligible. He is still recovering from over two thousand years of torment."

"Really?" Salgor snapped his fingers, and suddenly, two of his guards stepped around the corner from one end of the room dragging what appeared to be Aziru. Unconscious. When the guards laid the human out on the table, Salgor simply crossed his arms and looked back over the Council. "We found where they hid Aziru. The tok'ra and the tau'ri were hiding him on the Reoul planet." He eyed Teal'c, who matched him glare for glare. "More importantly...

"We have already interrogated him. And it seems he remembers more than you give him credit for." With a nod to one of his guards, who produced a pain stick, Salgor continued to address the Council: "It appears our old allies left out an important detail."

Shock. One well-placed stab was all it took to awaken Aziru, who screamed out in anguish. Fully conscious, albeit weak from whatever beatings he took, Aziru pleaded, "Stop! Please..."

"We don't take orders from a false god." A quick gesture from Salgor, and the guard stabbed Aziru again. Teal'c, tormented by what he saw, had to be held back by Bra'tac. If not, he'd have probably tried to kill the Jaffa with his bare hands. "Tell us about... the sons of Apsu."

Suddenly, Teal'c stopped and stared at Aziru in disbelief. It was the topic Daniel briefed SG-1 on earlier that day. More importantly, if Dr. Jackson was correct, it was they who held the answers to whatever the 'Abyss' he mentioned was.

Aziru coughed and sputtered, trying to regain his breath. Salgor grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head back, demanding he speak. Closing his eyes, tears running down his cheeks, Ba'al's former host began to recall what little he could.

Ba'al had found an island on Earth. On it, there was a temple. An emerald tablet hidden deep within an old chamber revealed what he needed to know. It was the story of Apsu after he took his tribe through the chapa'ai to Earth. An alien species whose ship he'd found had been studying the humans on the planet for some kind of genetic engineering. After arriving, Apsu became violent and unreasonable. Anu and his brothers, Alalu and Enki, killed Apsu and Tiamat, freeing their people. But then Anu began to grow just as corrupt as their father.

Over a long span of time, Enki planned to rebel. It wasn't for his people, but rather for himself. Anu's chosen heir, Enlil, murdered Enki's wife, claimed their son, and then forced Enki to kill his own beloved student, Kingu. All in all, it was his revenge.

Anu and Enlil's followers were exiled through the stargate to a world called Nibiru. A world somewhere at the edge of Earth's solar system. But what Ba'al found most interesting wasn't this little nugget. It was the fact that Enki and the rebels eventually ascended and went against the Ancients' call of non-interference. The Heart of Atlantis, the light, was the result.

"He planned to use it as a weapon," Aziru explained between coughs and groans. "SG-1 got to him first. So he hid the tablet with his lo'taur and went to find Nibiru."

"And?" Salgor leaned forward and gave Aziru the widest, most malicious smile he could muster. "Go on."

"He... found them." A planet much like Una, covered in swamps. However, it was out of phase due to a device that sounded suspiciously like Arthur's Mantle. "Ba'al used a crystal he stole from Merlin's lab to connect to their stargate."

"And then he unleashed them," Salgor finished, clearly impatient at the time this was taking. "Ba'al found the Nibirans had devolved into a series of tribes, much as the ancient Goa'uld. And just like the ancient Goa'uld, they practiced ritual cannibalism of the symbiotes." Even the cruelest among the Council looked disgusted by this. "There was a king living in an old city, but he held no power over them. Ba'al offered to take some of them off his hands."

"Are they the ones attacking our colonies?" Jo'rel inquired from beside Teal'c.

"Yes." Salgor responded with an unhappy hiss, even as Aziru broke down into tears again. With a wave of his hands, he ordered the guards to drag him back to his cell. Teal'c still glared daggers at the Jaffa, who passively stared back. "We'll decide what to do with him later. For now, he's provided us with their new locations. We can send the fleet and destroy them."

"It may be too early for that, Salgor." Again, it took Bal'kor to reign in his rival's passions. "Our fleets are still devastated from the war with the Ori. How would we-"

"Silence!" All eyes fell on the one who shouted. Teal'c. They could see he'd been overcome with anger far greater than Salgor's own. Bra'tac could hardly believe it either. "My son has been taken captive. Many of our comrades lie slain." He now shot his glare at Bal'kor. "If we do not act now, it may be too late to save our kin. We must /act/!"

"Teal'c..." Bra'tac tried to calm his old pupil, a hand on his shoulder. "Think. I agree we must take action, but we must not act with undue haste."

"He's right." This time, it was Salgor who provided the voice of reason. Teal'c eyed him warily. "This is no time to be rash. Let me interrogate him further, find out all that I can."

Was that a challenge? Teal'c couldn't tell. If Teal'c gave Salgor his support, he'd be condemning an innocent man to torture; but, in return, the success of his mission to rescue Rya'c would be more assured. If not, he may have inadvertently condemned their kin to die in the Nibirans' care, along with whatever was left of the fleet when they invaded.

He couldn't win. Salgor knew this and gave a subtle smirk. Teal'c narrowed his eyes.

Something wasn't right.


	5. Elysium's Void P1: Chapter 5

Mitchell hung up. He'd been on the phone for nearly fifteen minutes. All the while, Sam sat across from Desmond at the table with her eyes on her laptop. Occasionally, she paused and looked out the window where Cameron argued with whoever was on the other line. It wasn't too difficult to imagine who it might be. Landry wasn't the type to make things easy. Desmond just watched her near the end, wondering if he saw a spark there. Probably not.

"Alright, Landry's agreed to give you clearance." Those were the first words out of Cameron's mouth the moment he walked in and sat down on the corner of the bed facing the table. "But first," he warned. "You need to tell us something we can work with."

Desmond didn't know whether or not to trust these two, but from the way he saw Carter look concerned for whatever their commanding officer was putting Mitchell through, he knew they weren't the same kinds of psychopaths Widmore once had under his employ.

"You won't believe me," Desmond said, a weak grin on his lips. "I hardly believe it myself."

"Try us," Cameron replied, leaning forward on his knees. Just like Carter, he was about to listen _very_ closely.

First, it was a very simple story. Desmond fell in love with Penelope, daughter of millionare Charles Widmore. Being from a penniless background, Desmond couldn't convince Charles to let them marry. So, Charles gave him an opportunity. He'd enter a boat race across the Pacific, funded by Charles, and earn the old man's approval. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

His boat crashed on the shores of an island. A man named Kelvin Inman took him in. He filled Desmond's head with lies about some sort of radioactivity on the island outside and kept him locked away in a hatch. There, they had to type a code into an old computer every few hours to 'save the world'.

"He thought it was all a lie. Or maybe he didn't, I don't know." Desmond's brow creased. Even he couldn't figure out what happened on that island. Maybe he didn't want to know. "It was to prevent the build-up of some sort of electromagnetic energy. If I didn't, there'd be these hieroglyphs over the timer, and- and everything metal would fly at it."

"Hieroglyphs?" Even Desmond couldn't explain what threw Cameron off the most. Why would there be hieroglyphs in a hatch? That much, he thought he could guess the answer to. "Goa'uld," he muttered, earning him a confused look from Mr. Hume. But that was a matter best saved for another time. "What do you think it means?"

At this point, Cameron looked at Sam, hoping she would provide some answers. Carter could only shrug and guess, "Maybe it transferred the energy to another dimension." She didn't linger on the same detail Cameron did, but she thought it over. Then her eyes widened a bit, as she remembered one of McKay's experiments on Atlantis. "Or universe."

"You think the Goa'uld could've had something to do with it?"

"I don't know how." Sam never heard of anything like it before. Besides, "Why would they be looking for it if they'd already found it?"

"Whatever it was, I put an end to it. Once I used the fail-safe, the hatch detonated. I was sent back through time and had to find my constant." Another long story. In short, he experienced flashes between the past and the present. In order to get his mind back, he had to find Penny. It was heartwarming, if not strange. But, eventually, Desmond returned to the present.

"That's when Charles found me. He took me back to that island an' forced me to unplug some sort of cork blocking the light."

"Wait," Cameron stopped him there. "Cork? You mean those things we pop at weddings?"

"Aye."

Sam and Mitchell shared a look. Much of his story after he arrived on the island made no sense. With all the inconsistencies and unexplained supernatural phenomena, Desmond sounded like a madman who'd just dreamt up a fantasy where he was a hero. Given what he'd already told them about his background prior, that wasn't too hard to imagine.

"I'm tellin' the truth." Desmond noticed that look and tried desperately to defend himself. "Look, I'm no bloody scientist. All I know is there's something on that island capable of destroying the world if the wrong person gets their hands on it."

"Maybe that's what Ba'al was after," Cameron noted without thinking.

"Ba'al?" Desmond creased his brow, as if he were trying to understand. But after Mitchell sat back and considered what he'd told them, Desmond grew irate. "Alright, I've kept my end of the bargain. Now I want to know who you people are and why you're looking for that island."

Mitchell looked at Sam, hoping she'd know what to say first, if anything. But the decision ultimately rested with him. One deep breath later, and he started, with Sam chiming in on occasion. As they talked, Desmond's expression changed. He went from curious to concerned to uncertain and back again. But most important, they told him about Daniel's discovery.

"And here I thought I was the only one savin' the world." Desmond shook his head and chuckled nervously. "Seems like you've been doing it for years."

"We manage," Mitchell answered with a smile shared with Carter. "But you understand why we have to keep our work classified?"

"I think so." Desmond nodded curtly. "So you're sayin' if you don't find this island-"

"We can't find Atlantis," Sam finished his thought. "Look, Mr. Hume-"

"Desmond." Desmond smiled. He felt a little better around them now. "Call me Desmond."

"Desmond." Carter grinned in embarrasment but quickly went back to the matter at hand. "Atlantis may hold an answer to who created that light you found. More importantly, it may tell us why the DHD Thatch found was in Iraq instead of Egypt."

"And if Atlantis really is a project of the Ancients," Mitchell continued. "We need to know what it was for and if it's somehow related to this 'Abyss' Jackson mentioned."

"Abyss..." Somehow, just that word conjured up images of the Black Smoke in Desmond's mind, but he ignored it long enough to say, "I know how we can find the island." Sam and Mitchell both felt a sense of relief. "The hard part's goin' to be getting there."

* * *

Daniel looked out at the magnificent view. Earth silently and peacefully spun beneath him. Odyssey hovered in orbit, a soft hum emenating from the hull. His old mentor now sat strapped to a chair behind him facing away, much as Daniel had been when he'd briefly become a Prior for Adria. Something about the view comforted him, if only a little. He didn't want to think of interrogating his mentor like this, so he kept facing the window.

"Hiding from me again?" Although his voice was different, Daniel could still hear Meroe in those words. His personality, even his mannerisms, hadn't changed. Perhaps that meant he still thought of Daniel as the coward who went behind his back and published evidence he'd kept in good conscience. Or did he really have a good reason? "Come here. I won't bite."

No matter how he spoke, Meroe had an almost lifeless tone. He wasn't very expressive either. For a while, Daniel ignored him, preferring instead to think of that professor whose words of wisdom, no matter how they were delivered, left a lasting impression on a young student. When he did finally obey, he stayed off to the side so Meroe would have to crane his neck just to see him. Seeing Meroe grunt in discomfort, Daniel winced a little.

"Don't tell me you went to all this trouble and have nothing to ask?"

Again, Daniel remained silent. He needed to calm his conscience. Sure, he'd abducted a man he respected, but on the other hand, what sort of man could change his entire appearance?

"You don't like my face." Meroe sighed. It was as if he'd had this discussion before. "It isn't the man you recognized. Is it?"

"How?" Daniel managed at least that one, simple word. Meroe gave a melancholic smile.

"Perhaps I have a power you lack."

"That device you tried to use on me..." Daniel frowned. "What was it?"

No answer. Instead, Meroe leaned his head back, closed his eyes and began to control his breath.

"You knew about them." Daniel grit his teeth in frustration. "The photos. The artifacts. You knew about the Goa'uld long before I even joined the program. How?"

"I suppose there's no point in hiding the truth of those... wretched... creatures." Meroe sighed and opened his eyes. He looked straight at Jackson. "You know of them."

"We _defeated_ them," Daniel corrected. "If you knew about them, why didn't you tell anyone?"

"What makes you think I didn't?"

Daniel froze. Was that meant to be a hint or a misdirection? He couldn't tell with this man. In fact, it was like he didn't even know him. Who was he?

"The question you should be asking yourself is..." Meroe raised an eyebrow. "Why haven't _you_ told the world about your little discovery?"

"I did-"

"You know perfectly well what I mean," Meroe interrupted. "Once you learned about the Stargate and the Goa'uld, did you share any of that knowledge with your fellow man?"

Silence. Daniel could only offer him silence. Meroe nodded.

"I see. You can't trust them." He practically scowled. "How... unfortunate."

"Look, this isn't about me or them." Before Meroe could say another word, Daniel interjected, "We just need you to answer a few questions. This is about saving lives."

"Yes," Meroe repeated, his stolid, unending gaze fixed on Daniel. "It is."

After a few moments, Daniel decided to finally step out in front of Meroe and sit down on a stool, just as O'Neill had when he was in Meroe's position. "Who are you..." He looked into Meroe's eyes, as if trying to see into the other man's soul. "Really?"

"Who do you think I am?"

"You're not-helping." Daniel had to pool all his focus into not snapping at the man. "Look, I need a straight answer. Please."

"Oh, I think you know." Meroe smiled widely, further irritating Dr. Jackson. But before Daniel could go off on him for being so uncooperative, he soon added, "Look at me."

Daniel stared into his eyes for what felt like an eternity. Memories of his time as an ascendant came flooding back to him. He knew there was something the others were hiding from him. Something related to that trial. When he tried to investigate, the others blocked him at every turn. Like there was something they didn't want him to know. A name.

"Akharin." Daniel's eyes widened in realization, even as Meroe stared back like a statue. "... Enki."

Akharin cracked a smile, though it wasn't much. "A name I abandoned when I took the Ancient Jupiter as a host." A very small sigh escaped him. "Now that we're separate, he in the realm of ascension and I in this body, I felt it only appropriate to reclaim it."

"How..." Now Daniel's own mind bombarded him with questions. So many, in fact, that he had no idea where to begin. Akharin took notice of his confusion.

"You were ascended once. I can sense it." Akharin took a deep breath. As long as he kept the details to a minimum, it _might_ be safe, he opined. "So was I."

At that, Daniel had to stand and walk around. His hand reached up and cupped over his mouth and jaw, as he tried to put all the pieces together in his head. This was stranger than any other encounter he ever had. His old mentor... an Ancient?

"Not quite." Before Daniel could pry any further, Enki returned to the subject at hand. "No, Jupiter was the Ancient. I... was a Goa'uld."

The guard at the door suddenly grew tense, and Daniel couldn't blame him. He felt like he was facing a dangerous enemy himself. One who knew more about him than any other.

"I've been through this song and dance before. Torture won't work on me. I've become... accustomed to it." In some strange sense, that explained his leveled and measured tone. He sounded more like a robot than a human. "But don't let me stop you. I... _enjoy_... being wrong."

"We're not here to torture you." Daniel sighed and put a hand on his head, trying to figure out where to start. "We just need to know about the Anunnaki... or the Abyss Maura spoke of."

"Maura?" Akharin's troubled expression didn't fool Daniel, but he insisted, "I have no idea who that is."

"She was a... a being who claimed to be an avatar of something-" Daniel quickly realized with each word, he wasn't getting through to Akharin. Maybe he really didn't know anything about her. But at least he would've known about one thing. "Enki." At hearing his true name, Akharin blinked. "You're one of the sons of Apsu, aren't you?"

"Was," Enki spat. He'd already crossed the line when he told Daniel who he was. He just hoped it wasn't a mistake. "Apsu-"

"Apsu was a tyrant," Daniel finished. He frowned. "I read the emerald tablet. It was signed by you, wasn't it?"

After a moment, Akharin weakly nodded. "I wrote it."

So that was one mystery solved. Now for another. Daniel sat down and leaned forward, hoping he could convince the former Goa'uld to reveal more. "It said you banished them to another world." Before Akharin could turn away and stop giving him information, Daniel pointed out, "We got a call from Bra'tac a while ago. He said the people you banished were unleashed by Ba'al." That caught Enki's attention. "They're _eating_ symbiotes."

Suddenly, Enki's entire body shook. Although his expression never changed, it had become clear there was a barely contained sense of anger boiling inside him. Something about what Daniel had said pushed him over the edge. Now, Enki looked ready to tell him everything.

They were making progress. One step at a time.

* * *

"Seems ol' Danny boy has been doing a little investigation of his own." Cameron lowered his cellphone and put it back in his jacket pocket. "Looks like he found one of the 'sons of Apsu'."

"Sons of Apsu?" Desmond asked from the backseat, a little confused.

"A Goa'uld," Sam called from her place in the driver's seat. They were already on the road and she couldn't afford to be more specific than that.

"I'm sorry, but-"

"A parasitic, alien lifeform that uses humans for hosts," Cameron explained quickly. "Daniel thinks they're connected to Maura somehow."

At least Desmond remembered that. It was hard to forget so strange a story. Ascension made as much sense as the events he experienced. Especially that other life he found.

"Well, what are you goin' to do about it?" He asked. Mitchell glanced at Sam.

"I don't know. But right now, we're going to finish what we started." He looked back at Desmond. "We find the island, visit the giftshop and be home by dinner."

Soon enough, they pulled up in front of an old church. At first, neither of the two officers could believe it. Even as Desmond opened the door and climbed out, they sat there for a moment or two, staring incredulously at the building. Finally, as Desmond closed the door, Mitchell turned and looked at Sam.

"Startin' to think he's lost it," he pondered aloud before following Desmond's lead as the latter began the brisk walk up to the front steps. It took a moment more before Sam could get her bearings straight and follow. Fortunately, there were only two people sitting in the pews when they walked in, heads bowed in prayer. Desmond made a sharp turn to the left and led them into a back room with a door marked 'High Voltage'.

Neither had a chance to ask before Des wrenched open the door and stepped inside. They were led down a spiral staircase into a short hallway with a hatch door at one end, a strange octagonal symbol with what appeared to be the head of a lamp post in the middle emblazoned on the door. Again, without waiting for any questions, Desmond turned the handle until the door unlocked and creaked open.

Then they stepped inside. It wasn't what they expected. A large, circular room with a map of the entire Earth etched into the floor, markings of white indicating locations in the sea. More remarkably, an enormous Foucault pendulum swung back and forth in the middle of the room, a sharpened point on the bottom forming those marks as it swung. Old computer mainframes sputtered from around the perimeter of the room, including an electronic switchboard displaying coordinates with lights beside at least three.

"Woah." This time, it wasn't Mitchell who was surprised. Sam stared up at the pendulum and followed its movements across the map below. "This is incredible."

"Aye," Desmond acknowledged, watching the same thing with a disturbed look. "Don't ask me how it works. I only know it was built by the Dharma Initiative before they abandoned it."

"The question is: who runs this place _now_?" Mitchell glanced back over his shoulder. An advanced laboratory like this underneath a church? Whoever it was must've had a lot of influence to get away with constructing it here of all places. Not to mention how conspiratorial it all felt.

"Eloise," Desmond answered as Sam got to work examining some of the computers until she could find a working interface terminal: an old Apple I computer. "Last I heard, she'd sworn off the island completely. Maybe she looks in from time to time, but-"

"Cam!" Samantha called out from across the room. Before Desmond could finish, Mitchell jogged over to where she was standing and followed her eyes to the monitor.

"What've you got?"

"It looks like this lab is right above an anomaly like the one Desmond described-only weaker." Mitchell couldn't help but steal a glimpse back at the metaphorical pit and the pendulum. "Looks like it could be influencing the pendulum." Finally, she gave him a look. "Sir, if I'm right, this anomaly could be connected to others. They _could_ be connected to the magnetic field being generated by our planet's core."

"How does that help us?"

Sam turned back to the computer and began typing in commands. She hadn't used an old Apple computer in what felt like decades, but it was all coming back to her. "If the anomaly can be traced back to its source, we can pinpoint several different locations for the others. They must move when the Earth rotates. This one seems to be contained somehow, so it shouldn't move like the others. Then we just need a date..."

Sam finished inputting the lines of commands needed for the program to complete its job. When she pressed enter, the computer let out a beep and displayed a message: 'Event Window Determined'. "There." Sam grinned. Good to know those classes with old, outdated computer systems didn't go to waste. "There's an inversion in the next six hours."

"Then what?" Mitchell looked confused. "Where do we go?"

"Over here, brotha." Desmond stood by the switchboard with the coordinates. He pointed out the ones with the lights. "These are the places we should go."

Mitchell stared at the board for a moment before asking, "How do we know which one is your island?"

"All of them," Desmond answered cryptically. Mitchell raised an eyebrow, but Sam seemed to be putting two and two together better than he could. "Just pick one. Any one."

"Sir, I think he's right." Mitchell gave her a look that suggested he wasn't buying it. When he asked how an island could be in multiple places at once, Sam explained, "Maybe it isn't. _Maybe_ the island is caught in some kind of pocket of hyperspace or another dimension. If the Heart is as strong as the Shepherd's Journal says it is-"

"We don't even know if it's the same thing," Mitchell interjected. But Sam continued:

"I know, but everything we know about it aligns with Desmond's own testimony about the light." Mitchell raised an eyebrow, forcing Sam to nervously admit, "Except maybe the afterlife bit." But before Mitchell could keep badgering on, Carter continued. "But we know the Heart somehow takes people and reconstitutes them into energy." She paused and matched Mitchell's skeptical look with one of her own. "Doesn't that sound familiar?"

At first, he had to think about it, but it didn't take long to draw a conclusion. "Ascension," he muttered. "You think this thing can forcibly ascend people?"

"Well, we know it was made by the Ancients, or at least that's what Daniel's been suggesting. Maybe this was one of their attempts to ascend their race."

"Excuse me." Desmond stepped in like a child walking in on his parents arguing. He felt awkward, out of place, but involved in what they were saying. "I know I'm just here to help, but are you saying... you know who made the light?"

Mitchell in particular felt a tad annoyed, less so at Desmond and more at himself. There wasn't any way Desmond could help much beyond this point, at least as far as he knew. That's why Landry had been so persistant that he try to get his help without giving him all these details. Yet now that he had, was it right to leave the man out to dry after he'd given them all he could? Even Sam looked apologetic, like she knew they'd dug too deep.

Now they either had to tell Desmond everything or betray the man who got them this far.

"Sorta." That answer alone didn't do it for Des, who asked what he meant. When Mitchell realized he wasn't going to get out of this one, he explained, "You see, ascension is this _thing_ where the body turns into energy."

"I don't understand."

Knowing full well that Mitchell couldn't explain it very well, Sam pitched in. "When the human mind reaches a certain point of neurological cohesion, it metamorphosizes the surrounding tissue. In effect, the body becomes immaterial." Although that still left Desmond with questions, Sam could only answer so much. "Ascendants have _incredible_ abilities. They can appear or disappear at will. They could potentially live forever."

"Daniel called it a higher plane of existence." Mitchell felt he owed it to Sam to back her up. It was only fair. "Said it's the 'next stage of our evolution' or something."

Desmond pondered over it for a while before speaking again. "You mean to tell me I turned into energy?" He tested out the word, awkwardly stumbling over its use. "How? Why?"

"Let's just say the Ancients we know thought it important. As for the how-" Mitchell nodded to Sam, who started for the door. "That's what _we_ intend to find out. Thank you for your time."

"Wait!" They'd made it halfway to the exit when Desmond shouted after them. Cameron sighed and let his head fall as they stopped, while Sam looked back with concern. Though he now stood on the other side of the room, the pendulum swinging between them, Desmond boldly took a step forward. "You can't leave me here. Not after everything you've told me."

Mitchell stared at him for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Let me guess. You want to come with us."

"That's right." Knowing full well the colonel would protest, Desmond added, "Charles tried to have me killed. First, he took away everything I ever loved. Then he put me through some kind of test that nearly killed me. He used me to get to a bloody _cork_ in the ground!" His intense gaze met Mitchell's cool and collected one. "I think I deserve some answers."

Sam looked to Mitchell. Mitchell didn't look away from Desmond; and Desmond didn't turn away from him. A stalemate. Then Mitchell said, "Alright." Desmond began to smile until Mitchell exclaimed, "I just hope you're not afraid of heights."

* * *

Salgor finished what he'd set out to do. He tortured Aziru for information, then reported to Jo'rel. Not all the Nibirans had gone feral. On the contrary, the ones who hadn't still held the ones who had on a leash. A very short leash, at that. Ba'al used his vast resources to grant the civilized Nibirans, the Anunnaki, more than they'd bargained for. They had a way out.

The stargate. But it could only send physical matter in one direction without the crystal Ba'al had used on the other end. So, for now, the Anunnaki could only leave their planet, not return to it. Which meant they'd station a permanent presence on the world where they'd emerge. "Aziru will provide the coordinates. They have no defense apart from a few ha'taks."

"Provided he told you the truth." It wasn't like Jo'rel to be suspicious, but she couldn't afford another tragedy like the one suffered at Dakara. "What about the cannibals?"

"Ground troops." Salgor didn't seem perturbed by her reaction in the least. "We can handle them. They are outnumbered. We have the _advantage_."

Jo'rel carefully thought it over. Finally, she nodded, but stopped Salgor from walking away with a hand on his shoulder. "Just make certain he is forthcoming." Before he could even nod, she tightened her grip. "I mean it. You deceived the council once already."

"How so?" Salgor crossed his arms and looked at her with a smug grin.

"Arkad killed Teal'c's mother, but you know full well he would've killed more given the chance."

"That hardly invalidates my point." Jo'rel narrowed her eyes at his answer.

"Nor does it mine." Salgor's smile quickly wore off. She glared so intently at him, he could almost feel the fire burning behind her eyes. "No more deception, is that clear?"

Salgor grit his teeth before pulling away. "Perfectly." As he strode away, Jo'rel watched him go. With a constrained sigh, she turned and left. Maintaining their newfound democracy would be far more difficult with people like Salgor. Part of her wondered if it was even worth it.

Back in his personal chambers, where he could be alone, Salgor took a deep breath. The stresses of the day melted away all at once. Removing his cloak and setting aside the armor he wore beneath it, Salgor stretched his arms one at a time, gently rolling his head to loosen the tension growing in his neck. With that done, he looked down at a bag of his belongings sitting atop a table on the other side of the room.

Ignoring it for a moment, he wandered back out to the corridor and made certain nobody would disturb him. Certain he'd be alone, Salgor returned and closed the heavy wooden door behind him. Guided by a single thought, he stepped up to the table, reached into his bag, and withdrew a communication sphere. After another quick glance around the room, he activated it.

"They are ready," Salgor spoke in a hushed tone, afraid he'd be overheard. "The Jaffa will move on the planet tonight. Expect a fleet of at least thirty ships."

An image appeared on the inside of the sphere. It was none other than Cepheus, the young priest who'd met Teal'c and Daniel on Altaria. "Good. Have you made any progress?"

"It is too early to tell." Salgor frowned deeply. "The memory of Arkad and the Ori remains strong in their eyes. They will not trust another to lead them like before."

"I see." Disappointment crept through Cepheus' voice. He regretted what he'd have to do. "Thank you, Seb. One day, you will be rewarded with a symbiote. I'll see to it."

Seb bowed just as the call ended. After he laid the device back down in his bag and turned to retire to the baths for a moment's rest... he found himself face to face with a certain, furious Jaffa.

"Teal'c," he exclaimed. Before he could react, Teal'c grabbed him by the throat and sneered. Gasping for breath, hands trying to break Teal'c's vice grip, Seb sputtered, "No, wait"

"You have deceived us again." Teal'c would've struck him down where he stood, just as he'd intended in the council chambers. But Bra'tac's advice remained true even now. "What is it you are planning?"

Teal'c's grip tightened, making it harder for him to speak. But that didn't stop the Jaffa from coming inordinately close to killing him then and there.

"Tell me!"

Minutes later, he fell to the floor in the council chambers, coughing and tugging at his tunic's neckline. Teal'c stood over him and addressed the council, who looked at Salgor in concern.

"This man is no Jaffa! He is a human made to be like us!" Teal'c reached into the bag at his side and withdrew a device - the same kind used by Hathor on O'Neill many years ago. Throwing it to the floor beside Seb, Teal'c continued. "He serves those who once called themselves lo'taur. Servants of the Goa'uld. He is a traitor to our cause!"

"I only serve my gods," 'Salgor' spoke in his own defense. Slowly rising from where he'd been thrown, he looked out at the council with a stolid gaze. "Gods who gave us everything. Who gave you a purpose." Suddenly, it seemed the whole council had turned against him. But he went on anyway. "You abandoned them, and now look at you! Mewling infants, children ungrateful of what their parents have done for them! No, _you_ are the traitors!"

Before he could continue on his tirade, Jo'rel motioned for two of the guards to step in and take him to the holding cells. But even as he was dragged off, Seb repeated himself again and again. Traitors. That's all he saw them as. Jo'rel watched him go with a look of sadness.

"We thought the Goa'uld disposed of their harems and lo'taurs the moment we took Dakara." Bal'kor, despite being a long-time critic of Salgor, looked no less skeptical of Teal'c now.

"It appears we were mistaken."

That irked Bal'kor to no end. "So what do you propose we do?"

Teal'c froze. Again, he'd been put in a difficult position. Even after being captured, Salgor managed to get the last laugh. What could he do for Aziru, now that they knew their enemy?

At least this time, they could get Aziru's help willingly... if Teal'c could convince him.

He grit his teeth and looked intensely back at Bal'kor.

"We fight."

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : For those interested in learning a little more about Akharin's background as Enki, if you don't mind spoilers, feel free to read my other story, "Tales of the Anunnaki"! Any explanations I write in this story will only summarize what happened there, but details might crop up every once in a while to drive the plot.

This is the end of "Episode 1" (of a two-part pilot). After I post the next chapter, I'll start adding episode names next to the chapter numbers so there's no confusion!

All the little mysteries are coming together, and next part, you'll get more action and less talking! Not that there won't be any lack of dialogue, but at least - hopefully - it'll be more like a classic episode of SG-1. :D

And, of course, there will be answers. No red herrings here, I promise. ^^;


	6. Elysium's Void P2: Chapter 1

**Author's Notes** : Updates might be a bit slower for a while as allergy season is hitting me hard. The fact I can't use the air conditioner much as the days get hotter doesn't help. But I'll do my best!

* * *

Light filled the bridge as the trio beamed aboard. Soon enough, Colonel Mitchell, Colonel Carter and one other stood in front of them: Dr. Jackson and Colonel Matthew Jensen. They'd received Cameron's message and planned to give them a pair of F-302s. Carter seemed to think beaming directly through the EM field would be too risky. She was probably right.

"Jackson," Mitchell acknowledged the archaeologist with a nod.

"Cam." As usual, Daniel didn't stand on formality, even though Jensen did. While the three went about with the usual quick meet-and-greets, the one who'd joined them looked out at the planet in awe. Daniel crossed his arms and looked at Mitchell. "Uh... who's this?"

"Oh," Mitchell snapped his fingers and reached back to turn Desmond around. "Dr. Jackson, Colonel Jensen... meet Desmond Hume. Des, this is Daniel Jackson and Matthew Jensen."

Desmond couldn't look more awkward if he tried. He cracked a nervous smile, but felt no less anxious than when Mitchell had explained everything to him earlier that day.

"Right." Daniel stared at him with a discerning look before turning back to the only two he knew. "So, Bra'tac sent word from Teal'c. They found one of Cepheus' men pretending to be a Jaffa." That sounded familiar, Cameron clearly thought. "Seems they're connected to the creatures threatening their outer worlds. Anunnaki."

Carter raised a brow. "Daniel, didn't you say-"

"That my old mentor, Dr. Meroe, turned out to be one?" Daniel couldn't help but look down, brow furrowed in concentration. "Yeah, that's not _entirely_ true."

"What does that mean?" Mitchell gave Daniel a look that said he didn't want to know, but knew deep down that he'd have to tell him anyway.

A while later, they'd gathered in the briefing room. With several more hours to go before Mitchell and Sam could take off with their new companion, they thought it best to use their time to catch up on what they missed.

"He's an ascendant." Everyone grew quiet at that revelation, even Desmond, who admittedly knew very little about what Sam and Mitchell had tried to explain in the Lamp Post. "At least, he used to be. He claims to have known Oma Desala before she ascended. They were both Anunnaki before they rebelled. Jupiter, Minerva and Juno defeated Anu's successor, Enlil, and banished him and his supporters to a planet they called Nibiru. New beginnings.

"Afterward, Jupiter and his kind started calling themselves the Isu, or 'Free' in their language. They were destroyed when a solar flare hit Earth 77,000 years ago."

"Uh, Daniel..." Carter interjected. "A solar flare wouldn't do that."

"Not directly." Daniel reached behind him and showed them images of the device they'd retrieved from Akharin earlier. Colonel Jensen didn't trust it not to cause some sort of catastrophe, so he had it put away in a storage locker surrounded by a quarantine field. "It was strong enough to disable their technology. They used devices called Pieces of Eden. Some were made to prevent severe earthquakes and control the weather."

"Like the device on PX7-941." Mitchell glanced over at Carter. "The Touchstone."

"What does any of this have to do with the island?" Desmond, ever confused by a subject he didn't understand, grew impatient. He'd waited years for an answer. Now he wanted one.

"Okay," Daniel started, about to go on another one of his long-winded explanations. Cameron just sighed and sat back, arms crossed as he glanced over at Desmond, silently giving him an incriminating look. It was his fault.

"Akharin said the Heart of Atlantis was the work of his host, the Ancient named Jupiter. He doesn't know _why_ he created it, only that he was shut down for it. The other Ancients turned on him, trying to destroy it. Instead, he sacrificed himself to save it, and in the process may have shattered it somehow." Daniel paused. "The only way to know for certain is to find your island. Once we know _that_ , we'll know if there's anything else we have to do."

"Think there's any connection with your dream?" Mitchell had to wonder. At this point, everything they'd learned seemed disconnected.

Daniel suppressed a sigh. It looked like he considered the question before the briefing, but didn't like the answer. "Akharin couldn't say. But there's something he's not telling us."

About this point, Vala would say something profound. Metaphorically speaking.

"Where's Vala?" Mitchell thought it best to change the subject before Desmond could make this 'briefing' take longer than it had to. He was getting tired of briefings.

Daniel pursed his lips.

* * *

 _"What do you mean he's gone missing?" Vala followed Zanuf around the tok'ra base like a lost puppy. Admittedly, puppies didn't whine quite as much as her, but that's besides the point. "I was supposed to come here and talk to him personally. It's not like I could've followed Daniel to the planet or the other two to London."_

 _Pausing for a moment, she realized that wasn't entirely true. She quite wanted to see London, actually. Seeing Daniel stumble over a potential first contact situation wouldn't have been too bad either. Realizing she'd zoned off long enough for Zanuf to get a headstart on her, she quickly snapped out of it and ran up behind him._

 _"Listen, if you could just tell me where he went, I might be able to convince him to help us. He might... he might-" Again, she found herself at a loss for words. How could he help them further anyway? "Actually, I'm not sure it's all clear to me on that part."_

 _"Look, this is none of your concern." It was Irvine, Zanuf's host, that turned and spoke this time. He'd been more patient with her than the symbiote, but even he had a difficult time up to this point. Now he was at his limit. "Aziru will be found and returned to us."_

 _Vala narrowed her eyes. She'd noticed something about the way the tok'ra were treating her the moment she arrived. It was as if they'd become aloof, distant. Given her own past experiences, she had a decent idea why. "You don't trust us, do you?"_

 _"You?" When Vala didn't respond, Irvine sighed and nodded. "You mean the tau'ri."_

 _"You think we betrayed Aziru's location to someone. Who?"_

 _"Last we heard, he was with the Jaffa." Vala's face went pale. If that was true..._

 _"What? How?"_

 _"We don't know." First, it was Irvine. But then his eyes glowed and the symbiote took over. "Either one in our ranks is a traitor, or one of yours. The Council of the Tok'ra has launched an investigation. What of the tau'ri?"_

 _"Well, it's the first I've heard of it," Vala admitted with a shake of her head. "But surely you don't think we'd have told them? We were the ones who helped cover up the truth in the first place."_

 _"A fact that has not gone unnoticed among us." Zanuf took one glaring step toward Vala, prompting her to take one step back. "Why would the tau'ri betray us?"_

 _"Why indeed." Vala did her best to sound like she agreed, but she felt more nervous than the day she arrived. Maybe not so much, but... she snapped her fingers. "Ah, I know!"_

 _"You do?" Irvine spoke this time, raising an eyebrow at her display of eureka._

 _"I'll bet he's being held on Chulak." When Irvine prepared to ask her why, Vala answered preemptively, "Don't you see? He's the perfect bargaining chip. Whoever gets their hands on him, they're likely to gain the awe and respect of their fellow Jaffa! There's no way they could keep him a secret!" Again, before Irvine could speak, Vala pat him on the shoulder. "Don't you worry. I'll get him back."_

 _At that, she took off in a hurry, leaving Irvine to stand there feeling like an idiot._

She didn't know what to expect when she arrived through the stargate on Chulak. But the last thing she expected was to see over a dozen ha'taks scattered across the horizon. From that and the sounds of heavy, metallic footsteps, not to mention the shouting of commanders giving orders to their troops, Vala deduced they were going to war.

Teal'c led a small procession of soldiers from his village, geared up in his traditional Jaffa armor and carrying a staff weapon. Funny how even after all this time, they never even considered using tau'ri weapons. On the other hand, SGC wasn't sending them P90s every other week, so what else were they to use? With a shrug, Vala chased after him.

"Teal'c!" Her call hadn't gone unnoticed. The sole Jaffa of SGC slowed down and looked back at her, but his subsequent glance toward the tel'tak he was about to board proved he was in a hurry. Others passed them as she approached. "What's with the party?"

"We are about to invade a planet and rescue my son." Teal'c ignored her remark and continued his march in haste. "What brings you to Chulak?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd know the location of a mutual friend." Vala did her best to smile, but Teal'c neither noticed nor cared. Understandably, he had other things on his mind.

"Follow," was all he had to say before boarding the ship with Vala tagging along.

Before she knew it, they were off on some fool's errand to P2X-887. Well, a few of the fleet was. Teal'c planned to take a tel'tak to the planet where he hoped to find Rya'c. That, and he would scout out the planet ahead of the fleet, to make sure there weren't any surprises waiting for them when they emerged from hyperspace.

"What have you done to him?" Vala stood crouched next to where Aziru sat. He'd been beaten and bloodied pretty bad. He was hardly even conscious.

"It was not I who tortured him." Though any other day, Teal'c would've been somewhat offended that his honor was questioned, today he had other things to be concerned about. "Aziru has already given us the location of this world."

Vala wanted to say something, anything to convince Teal'c this was a bad idea. But as she already figured, this wasn't going to be a normal day for either of them.

A few hours later, they arrived. Teal'c immediately cloaked the tel'tak as they flew in. There were dozens of ha'taks in orbit, just as he predicted. Cepheus would've surrounded and destroyed the fleet had he not heeded Bra'tac's warning. Fortunately, this meant P2X-887 would be relatively undefended. _Un_ fortunately, they likely wouldn't find Cepheus there.

Which meant this undeclared war would last much longer than he'd hoped.

"Teal'c-" Aziru wearily spoke, a dry, rasping noise if ever they heard one.

"Hang on, I'll get some water." Vala quickly ducked into the back but stopped short of running into what appeared to be a Goa'uld mine. It looked disabled, but she couldn't be too sure.

"Teal'c." Before she could reach her bag of supplies, she overheard Aziru try to speak again. "I must apologize."

Teal'c said nothing. He focused on the job at hand: getting past the fleet, locating the stargate, and destroying it. Whether that meant the Nibirans would be cut off from their only means of escape from their world or not, at least it would send a message. The Jaffa were no longer the galaxy's doormats, whose lives were dominated by others. No, they were now a free people, stronger than ever, if only in spirit. That's all they ever needed.

"I couldn't... I couldn't stop him." Aziru weakly shook his head, his eyes closed as he tried to block out the memories returning to him. "I tried. Tried to block out his mind. Tried to ignore it." Vala stopped and walked up to the doorframe dividing the tel'tak's bridge from its cargo bay. She put a hand on the frame and watched Aziru do what she couldn't. "Nothing I did ever worked." Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "So many people..."

Although she wanted to walk out there, tell him it would be alright, she knew better. It would never be alright. Knowing what you did, regardless of whether or not you were at fault, didn't make it any easier. She watched Qetesh kill and maim a great many people. She watched as she abused her slaves, ordered genocides and tortured parents in front of their children. But worst of all... she remembered feeling satisfied at each and every scream.

"When I served as First Prime of Apophis, I did a great many deeds I am not proud of." Teal'c didn't look back at Aziru, focused as he was on piloting the ship. But that tone in his voice said he wasn't quite as stoic as he led others to believe. "I will never forgive myself for what I have done. _Nothing_ will bring me redemption for all those lives I have taken."

It was something Vala never heard Teal'c say. Even Aziru had to look and see if it was really Teal'c speaking. The strong and silent type, stolid as a rock, harboring a guilty conscience?

"You will find a way to cope with your disgrace, whether or not you deserve it. It may take many years before you are able to see the path that lies before you-a path laid by guilt." That's when Teal'c looked back at him. "It will never leave you. It will never give you a moment's reprieve. But it guides my very purpose." At that, Teal'c looked back out the cockpit window. They were approaching the planet's atmosphere. "If you let it, it may also guide yours."

Eventually, they were in the skies just above where the sensors detected the stargate. Unfortunately, as they quickly discovered, there were many Jaffa chained to the old, stone pillars around it, as if sacrificial offerings to whatever walked out of the gate. What's worse...

Rya'c was one of them.

* * *

Desmond didn't like this. He'd never been one for the Air Force. After his last experience in a helicopter that crashed into the ocean, he felt he could be forgiven for having a little trepidation towards his situation. Sam and Mitchell would take two separate F-302s. He would have to sit in the co-pilot's seat behind the latter.

"So, Mr. Hume." Mitchell casually made small-talk as he flicked some switches and prepped the craft for takeoff. "You ever dreamed of being an astronaut?"

"Not really, no." Desmond felt his heartbeat grow stronger as he both heard and felt the engines come to life. "To tell you the truth, I much prefer the ground."

"Well, don't worry. If everything goes well, you'll get to put your feet down in no time."

"Excuse me?"

Before Desmond could ask what he meant by 'no time', Mitchell sent a call to the Odyssey's bridge: "Odyssey, we're ready down here."

"You're go for launch, colonel," answered Colonel Jensen's voice. "Godspeed."

Recalling their brief visit to a church earlier, Mitchell glanced back at Desmond with a smirk, though he knew he couldn't see him from where he was sitting. _Well, you win some, you lose some_ , he thought before rolling out into the hangar's runway. Sam's F-302 would pull out in front of them, since she knew where they needed to go. "Sam, got those coordinates?"

"Yes, sir," Carter replied with confidence. At least they had _that_ going for them. "It'll require some very precise flying. If we're off by even a meter when we enter the field, we may pass by it without noticing. We have about thirty minutes before our window closes."

"Right. Get your mask on back there." Mitchell forwarded that back to Desmond, who fumbled to comply. "Don't need to be lugging you out unconscious after we land."

With all that said and done, they were off. Desmond closed his eyes as tightly as he could muster, not wanting to see how quickly they were approaching the earth. Somehow, he expected it to be a lot worse than it actually was. His eyes cracked open, and though the sight of the planet growing bigger through the cockpit worried him to no end, he found himself looking around the inside of the craft. He wasn't feeling any G-forces or inertia.

"Inertial dampeners," Mitchell explained, sure Desmond would be wondering. "Without 'em, we'd be like bugs on a windshield right now."

"What do we do if they go off?" Desmond's terrified look up at where Mitchell sat said everything, even if the good colonel couldn't see it.

Mitchell only chuckled. "Sit tight there, Des. This is gonna get a little bumpy."

As Mitchell predicted, the craft started to shake as they entered Earth's atmosphere. Desmond pressed his hands into the sides of the cockpit, as if hoping that would stabilize him. Instead, it just reminded him what he'd gotten himself into.

Soon enough, they passed through the clouds and flew toward a spot on the open sea. There wasn't any island as far as they could tell. "Uh, Sam?"

"Give it a minute, Colonel." Carter kept her eyes locked between the approaching ocean and the dials on her dash. Once they hit about 2,000 feet, they'd see a large island appear like they were being drawn onto a canvas all at once. Pulling up, they'd manage to slow their descent and start looking for a runway. The closest they could find was on a smaller island off the coast. Otherwise, they had a few open fields to choose from.

"Land on the main island," Desmond instructed. He'd hoped never to see this bloody place again, but part of him wanted to know more about the light he'd found himself in.

After they settled in a plain some ways inland, they disembarked. Mitchell expected it to be warm, but even he thought he wasn't fully prepared once he set foot outside the craft.

"Alright, let's secure the F-302s and get going." With a nod to Sam, Mitchell stayed on the wing and leaned over to make a few adjustments to the lock on the cockpit window. Meanwhile, Desmond jumped down and raised his arm to shield his eyes from the sun. He didn't recognize the field off-hand, but seeing the ocean in the distance, he could make an educated guess. After all, he'd been stuck here for what felt like ages.

"So, where exactly do you people need to go?" He looked back as the F-302's canopy closed shut. Mitchell slid off the wing and landed on his feet.

"The light." Cameron clapped his hands together and took a look around. "Where to?"

"I should warn you," Desmond started to explain, ignoring the colonel's off-the-wall comment. "It's too dangerous to get close. Either of you would be killed."

"Then how did Ba'al plan to get his hands on it?"

"We can scan it from afar, sir," Carter only semi-answered his question after she finished locking up her F-302 too. She opened a pocket on her vest and pulled out a hand-held device. "This is a scanner we brought over from Atlantis. I picked it up while we were on the Odyssey."

"I thought you both said you were lookin' for Atlantis." Desmond looked confused.

" _Different_ Atlantis." Mitchell sighed. Having two cities called Atlantis would take some getting used to. In the meantime, he glanced at Sam. "Can't you just locate it with that thing?"

"Its range is extremely limited."

"Then it looks like you'll be needin' me after all." Desmond smirked. The colonel no doubt hoped to get rid of the 'extra weight'. But right now, that didn't matter. He'd lead the way.

* * *

"Ten thousand years." Daniel could hardly believe it. Here sat a man who'd lived longer than any other human being-as far as they knew. "Are there any others like you?"

"If there were, they've descended into symbiote form." He didn't bother mentioning Oma Desala and her ilk. Daniel was already well-aware of them. Besides, they were only the Ancient hosts. The symbiotes themselves almost always returned from ascension. Living in a higher plane of existence didn't mean much to a species who could be gods in their own part of the universe.

"But we checked. You don't have a symbiote in you."

Akharin mumbled apprehensively. He'd been resurrected as a symbiote at the mouth of the Euphrates river. He instinctively found a human bathing in its waters and took him for a host. "His name was Alulim, a slave born seven thousand years ago." He escaped his slave camp and found his old temple in Eridu, a city-state on the edge of the Persian Gulf where Alulim's masters lived. But he couldn't make his body immortal. For that, he needed a sarcophagus. "A temporary measure, at best. I felt my mind slipping away from me."

If anyone could understand, it was Daniel. His first experience using the sarcophagus when he wasn't injured led to a brief mental breakdown. It was like a drug-a dangerous narcotic. He'd even been willing to let his friends suffer to keep going.

"I spent those first years learning to separate my consciousness from that of my host." He wouldn't explain how, even if Daniel asked. "Eventually, I abandoned one host for another. My third host is the one I now inhabit."

"Is he alive? Can he speak?" It was a question to which Daniel wasn't sure he wanted answered. The Tok'ra shared their hosts, but most Goa'uld didn't. Which was Enki?

"I rid myself of the symbiote, transferring my consciousness into this body the moment it was born." Daniel felt his heart skip a beat. The thought mortified him. "He has no mind of his own. For a time, I lived only in his subconscious. When he aged a full year, I was in control."

Incredibly disturbed at this revelation, Daniel had to stand and pace for a brief while. He'd never heard of a Goa'uld taking a host at birth. Infant bodies couldn't withstand a symbiote. But with Enki's ability to simply transfer his whole mind over from one body to another, nothing could stop him. In some ways, it was more devious and immoral than the Goa'uld.

"He felt no pain." Akharin's voice drew Daniel out of his thoughts long enough to stare back at the 'man'. "No... suffering. He never knew the world he lived in. Ignorance... is bliss."

"That doesn't justify taking away his only chance." Daniel finally turned to face him.

"Yours is a child race. Young and impetuous." Akharin scowled. Daniel looked away. "I saw what became of you. You would destroy that boy, much as you do yourselves."

"A little quick to judge, aren't you?" Daniel fixed his glasses and looked Akharin in the eye with furrowed brow. "You don't know what he could've been."

"Nor do you," Akharin countered. He'd had centuries to practice debating. But ever since he started delving back into the lone study of genetics, he might've been a tad rusty. "My purpose here is more important than one man's life."

"That doesn't excuse what you did." Daniel, on the other hand, knew how to stand his ground in philosophical debate, just as he'd done with the Ori over a year ago. "Why did you come back?"

Akharin's gaze fell to the floor. So, he had a conscience after all. "To correct a mistake."

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the ship. The lights flickered. Alarms went off across the deck. Startled to action, only after a quick peek out the vast window to confirm they weren't being attacked, Daniel quickly ran over to a comm and patched in to the bridge. He asked for Colonel Jensen. Unfortunately, communications were down. Nobody answered.

Daniel pursed his lips, briefly glanced back at Akharin, and opened the door to the corridor. As he made his way to the bridge, the deck shuddered beneath him periodically, nearly throwing him off his feet several times. Like the comm, the elevator didn't work. He'd have to take a ladder through a maintenance tunnel. At least it wasn't a long climb.

Once on the bridge, he was able to get a report from one of the officers manning a front console. "Some sort of EM energy is disrupting our systems. If we don't get it under control, we could experience a cascade reaction inside the hyperdrive!"

"Where's it coming from?" Daniel inquired, hoping she'd be able to find the answer. A few moments later:

"It's coming from inside the ship!" Her voice wavered as her hands moved quickly across the board. "Section 9, Storage Room 3." The room they'd stored Akharin's device.

Again, the inertial dampeners providing the artificial gravity flickered on and off, causing the floor to quake. Daniel wasted no time heading for the room himself.

When he arrived, he found a guard lying slumped over against the wall across from the now-open door. Inside, there were similar bodies, either unconscious or dead. But what really caught his attention was the glowing sphere lying mere inches from the hand of Colonel Jensen, who'd also been knocked out cold by whatever caused the frequent tremors.

Then the orb began to sound like it was charging up again, an undeniable high-pitched sound not unlike that of a Goa'uld Tok'Kal. Quickly, Daniel ducked back around the corner just as a visible pulse of energy swept out from inside the room. As it did so, the deck shuddered so bad that Daniel lost his footing and had to put a hand out to stop his head from hitting the opposite wall. He'd have tried to get near the device, but another pulse mere seconds after the last dissuaded him. How could he disable it? Especially not knowing what it is?

Without another second to lose, Daniel made his way back to where he'd been interrogating Akharin. The old man looked just as confused and terrified as he did.

"Akharin!" Daniel shouted as another loud pulse shook the ship. "That device you used on me... can you disable it?"

Suddenly, it all began to click together. Akharin narrowed his eyes at Daniel. "One of you attempted to use it, didn't you?"

"Can you help us or not?"

Impatience. A hallmark of the human species, Akharin thought. All the more reason they would never entirely ascend. But that was neither here nor there. He nodded slowly.

Daniel took a deep breath and hoped this was the right thing to do. He released Akharin and led him to where the artifact continued to wreak havoc on the Odyssey.

Seeing what had become of the others, Akharin shook his head and stepped in front of the doorway. Right before the next pulse could be unleashed, he held up his hand and shouted, "Pel baykam lurae anku." The glowing light began to dim, ever so slightly, allowing Akharin to approach. He waited a moment, allowing the light to focus on him before crouching down to pick it up. Once he did, the light faded, and Daniel could step in and check on the others.

"They're alive." Daniel confirmed that much. But Akharin just stared at the sphere, as if contemplating something he didn't like. When he stood back up, Daniel watched Akharin cautiously. Even his own gaze fell on the artifact. "I don't suppose you'll tell us what that was?"

Akharin frowned, but didn't look up.

"Our mistake."


	7. Elysium's Void P2: Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** I spent a ridiculous amount of time writing and rewriting this chapter, at least whenever I could. This was the hardest chapter to write for some reason. I'm really sorry for the long wait, but I hope you enjoy anyway! ^^;

* * *

They were grotesque. Smooth-skinned caricatures of the Unas with wide cheekbones and hair sprouting out from beneath them. Amber eyes framed by long, inset sockets stared in hunger at the sacrifices tied to the pillars. Sleeveless, brown leather vests with long shoulders tapered off at the end did little to cover the steel armor worn over their torso. Similar leather gauntlets embraced their lower arms above the wrist, leading one's eye to the wicked railgun in their hands and the double-edged long sword strapped without a sheath to their waist. Around their necks, they wore a small, thin skull suspended on a leather strip and two outward-facing spikes from either side of their neckline.

He and Vala crouched behind a bush atop a hill overlooking those beasts guarding the gate. They'd left Aziru behind in the ship. Even if Teal'c felt he had a moral responsibility to protect the former host's life, they couldn't risk losing the only source of Ba'al's memories.

"How terribly barbaric," Vala whispered in disbelief. "Who wears old leather like that anymore?"

Teal'c used a pair of binoculars to survey the area. There were six guards, three on either side of the raised platform on which the pillars and the gate stood.

"You're not seriously thinking of going down there, are you?" Vala gave Teal'c a look as if he were crazy. "What if there are others coming? They _are_ supposed to be gearing up for war, you know. A war which you started."

Teal'c lowered the binoculars and gave Vala a _very_ nasty glare.

"Sorry." Vala wisely apologized. "You didn't start it. I only meant..."

"They knew we were coming." Teal'c understood what she meant. The Council made the plans to invade this world before he talked them out of it. Before that, however, a certain traitor warned Cepheus they were coming. They had to be gathering more forces at the gate, since that would logically be the Jaffa's first target: their main supply lines. "Their reinforcements may be delayed. We must act quickly. Remain here and await my signal."

Before Vala could say another word, Teal'c hurried quietly away from the bush and made his way along the perimeter. He planned to assault both sides of the gate at once. Vala took a deep breath and got ready with her P90. Once Teal'c fired off the first staff weapon blast from the trees on the other side, the Nibirans quickly turned toward the noise, including the ones on _her_ side of the field. That left their backs open. Vala took aim and fired, downing one before the other two looked back and raised their weapons.

"Oh sh-" Just as Vala ducked back away from the bush, a loud thunderclap pierced the air a mere nanosecond before a spinning blade leaving a trail of flames behind it cut through its branches. Stumbling away, Vala tried to find cover behind a nearby tree, readying to shoot down either of the two dashing up the hill toward her position.

Sure enough, they'd followed her, and Vala was able to take down one more before the last one fired. One of the blades lodged itself into the tree next to Vala's head, its metal glowing with some sort of golden light. A click and some sort of electronic whir shook Vala out of her terrified state, and she ducked just in time to avoid a bright streak of energy passing through the tree above her, leaving behind a smoldering hole.

Realizing she didn't have much choice, Vala took off. The Nibiran's weapon fired too slow to catch her as she ducked and weaved through the undergrowth. When she finally found a position beneath a fallen log, she bit her lip and tried to slow her ragged breathing. Her eyes flittered from one part of the forest to the next, looking for any sign of the creature.

It was quiet. _Too quiet_ , Vala mused.

Then she heard it. That electronic whir. Right behind her.

Suddenly, a zak'nik'tel discharge caught the beast just as Vala rolled on to her back to face it. Rather unexpectedly, it didn't collapse there. Instead, it tried to shift its aim at whoever had just fired on him. Vala took the opportunity to fire a slew of rounds into his back, and one last bolt of blue energy finished the job. With the warrior dead, Vala crawled back out from her little hiding place, stood after seeing who her mysterious benefactor was, and brushed the dirt and grass off her otherwise impeccable uniform.

"I thought you'd never get here." Vala took a light jab at his expense. Aziru stepped out from cover and looked down at the one he'd just had a hand in helping to kill. Though it looked so inhuman, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease from seeing a corpse. "You know what they say," Vala tried to be helpful in her own unhelpful way. "The bigger they are..."

"I haven't killed anyone since the ceremony." Of course, he meant the ceremony to remove the symbiote of Ba'al from him. That brilliant but cruel System Lord would've shown at least _some_ restrained glee from killing anything which drew breath. "If it wasn't for the Tok'ra..."

A sound interrupted him. Leaves being crushed underfoot as two pairs of footsteps rushed toward them. Distant claps of thunder and the howling of over half a dozen beasts, most likely the dreaded Nibirans. "How about we leave that conversation for another time?"

Vala fell back to the ship, but she stopped just short of the loading ramp to see if any of them might be Teal'c. Fortunately, she saw him emerge into the grove with Rya'c grasping one of his hands. Unfortunately, Teal'c looked horribly bloodied and injured.

Just as Teal'c stumbled to the ground at the edge of the woods, he shouted at Vala: "Leave! Take Rya'c and go!" Aziru tried to go to help, but Vala stopped him. The howling and unmistakable footsteps from before were close behind. Although Rya'c wanted to protest, Vala knew not to question Teal'c on a matter as grave as this. Though it took some urging, and a quick word from Teal'c saying, "Live free, my son," Vala was able to drag Rya'c back to the ship with her just as the fallen Unas tore out of the forest and took aim. Vala fired a few pot shots as she retreated up the ramp behind Rya'c, closing the hatch right after the very first shot from the Nibiran weapon lodged itself in the bulkhead.

They had no time to lose, cloak or not. Vala rushed to the front and sat down in the pilot's seat, starting the engines and lifting them up to the sky.

"We can't leave him there!" Rya'c complained, understandably upset by what he'd just witnessed. But Vala, despite agreeing completely, couldn't let herself be distracted. She'd have to fly them out of low orbit and bypass the ha'taks without them detecting her. How they were going to do that now that the Nibirans likely radioed their location to Cepheus, she had no idea.

"Who said anything about leaving?" Vala ignored that voice of reason in her head and turned the ship around. She planned to make a run for Teal'c, use the ring transporter to catch him and the guards escorting him, and gun them down once they were in the cargo bay-leaving Teal'c alive, of course. But as she took them back towards where they'd left off, something hit the ship. And again. A sensor reading appeared on the readout between her hands.

Death gliders.

Another shake, and this time, the cloak went down. It might as well, given how useless it seemed now. Ba'al probably had time to develop a countermeasure for detecting cloaked ships after he became the last known Goa'uld in power. On the other hand, he might've found a technology long forgotten by the others...

"We can't sustain many more hits like that." Especially if they were to stay in place long enough to activate the ring transporter. They'd be sitting ducks. "Hold on!"

Vala had enough experience piloting her own tel'tak that she could pull off some fast, evasive manuevers. But if throwing off two death gliders happened to be a challenge, evading nearly a dozen careening through the clouds above would be impossible.

Cursing her luck, Vala abandoned the plan and aimed her ship up at the oncoming horde. "This is the worst plan I could ever think of." As the gliders unleashed their fury, Vala took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

She activated the hyperdrive. Swept into hyperspace, the ship narrowly avoided the staff blasts from the gliders, who were forced to break off their pursuit. Praying she wouldn't disengage the drive while passing through one of the ha'taks, or the planet's moon, Vala counted to three and gripped the piloting apparatus tightly.

When they emerged, it was far enough from the planet and the other ha'taks. With a feigned, self-congratulatory grin, Vala looked back at the co-pilot's seat where she'd half-expected Teal'c to be. Instead, there was no one. And Rya'c undoubtedly glared at her from where he was sitting, a little ways behind her. Her smile quickly disappeared.

Suddenly, the ship lurched forward so hard, it nearly threw Vala into the bulkhead beside her. Giant pulses of bright energy passed by them, followed by the unmistakable sound of staff cannon blasts caused by coma-the halo surrounding the orb of energy-sweeping against the hull. Another hit, and an explosion in the cargo bay caused the door dividing it from the cockpit to close automatically. A hull breach.

As if things couldn't get any worse, a small fleet of ha'taks jumped out of hyperspace ahead of them. Vala held her breath. This isn't how she expected to go.

But instead of finishing the job, the Goa'uld motherships ahead began firing on the ones attempting to stop Vala's escape. Vala didn't know what to make of it until she received a comm signal from one of the ships. It was Bra'tac.

"As we expected." Bra'tac smiled with a nod. "I hope we are not too late."

Vala let out a sigh of relief. "Better late than never."

But how would she explain what happened to Teal'c?

* * *

Desmond grit his teeth after nearly losing track of the creek for the eighth time that day. Somehow, he knew finding that light would be easier said than done. Whatever it was, it warped reality around it. How else could he explain it? One solitary light in a cave. And an experience that faded like a dream.

"What, did the light just pick itself up and move?" Mitchell glanced uncertainly over at Carter. "It _can't_ , can it?"

"Well, that depends." When Mitchell gave her a disappointed look, Carter couldn't help but smile. She was enjoying this. "See, the island is surrounded by a subspace field. It's what's keeping it out of phase with the rest of our planet."

"Like Arthur's Mantle," Mitchell confirmed.

"Sort of." Again, an exasperated sigh from Mitchell. Sam tried to summarize for his benefit. "The island's only partially out of phase. The gravimetric effects of Earth's core keeps it tethered to the planet, but whenever there's a distortion in the light's energy output, the island shifts location."

"And just what kind of distortion are we talking about here?"

"I don't know, sir." Samantha glanced at their guide, who walked much further ahead. "Until we find out exactly what it is, there's no way to know for certain."

Before they knew it, Desmond stopped and threw his hands up in frustration, finally letting them rest at his hips as he turned and looked everywhere but at them.

"This is ridiculous." Desmond stared off in the distance toward a waterfall they could vaguely see through the trees. "It shouldn't be this difficult to find."

"If it wasn't, things might've been different."

That wasn't one of them. The trio turned to see who it was. Desmond narrowed his eyes. He recognized him. "You..."

"Who-?" Mitchell looked disturbed. Desmond hadn't introduced them, so Sam and Mitchell were out of their element. They didn't expect to encounter anyone out here. That was something else Mitchell would have to speak to Desmond about later. He didn't like surprises.

"My name's Benjamin Linus." A weasley little man with a receding hairline and big, round eyes. He wore nothing more than a slightly torn, linen shirt and trousers, likely sewn together from whatever materials he'd scavenged. He stared back unflinchingly at Desmond. "I never thought I'd see you here again, Desmond. Did you miss something?"

"No." Given their last encounter, Desmond didn't trust the man. It didn't matter whether or not the man saved his life once. He threatened Penelope. Nearly killed their son. Nothing he did or said after that would make up for what he tried to do. "Not a thing."

As expected, Ben said nothing. He wouldn't get anything out of Desmond. So, he turned to his cohorts. "Would _you_ like to try?"

"Don't tell him anything," Desmond warned. That caught Ben's attention. After staring down Desmond for a few, short moments, he smiled. What I wouldn't give for the chance to wipe that smirk off his face, Desmond thought.

"You're after the light again, aren't you?"

"The light," Mitchell repeated, catching Ben's attention. "What do you know about it?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Mitchell sighed. He was getting tired of this. Nobody wanted to give him a straight answer. "Because if you don't, we'll have come all this way for nothing."

Ben stared at Mitchell with not even the slightest hint of a smile. "You're going to have to do better than that."

When it looked like Mitchell had become too irate to continue, Sam stepped in, always willing to back him up. "The fate of the galaxy may be at stake." _May_ be? Mitchell vowed that if they got out of this, he'd have to speak to Daniel about the importance of being specific. Then again, this _was_ the Ancients they were talking about. The masters of beating around the bush. Even Carter realized this when she said, "It's hard to explain."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere." Ben shrugged off-handedly and glanced at Desmond, who was growing more frustrated by the second. Part of him felt satisfaction in that.

Sam and Mitchell had to consider what they said next very carefully. They didn't know whether this man could be trusted, especially given Desmond's reaction to his presence. But, on the other hand, they knew they needed help. If Ben knew the Island by heart, he might be able to lead them in the right direction.

 _... or he'll lead us right into a trap_ , Mitchell thought.

When they finished conveying what little of the story they could get away with, not once compromising the security of the SGC, they hoped it'd be enough. For someone with a penchant for deception and stringing along people on fruitless journeys, Ben knew they were hiding something. Then again, they already showed him a small gesture of faith. Why shouldn't he?

"So you're saying if I don't take you to the light, the world would be in danger?" As if it wasn't already. But he wasn't about to quibble over semantics. After mulling it over for a bit, Linus shook his head. "No. No, it's too risky." Before anyone could protest, he explained what Desmond already had: "Even if I could take you there, you couldn't go anywhere near it."

"We shouldn't need to." Carter stepped forward and showed Ben the Ancient scanning device in her hand. "If you can get us within a hundred meters-"

"I wish I could." Ben feigned ignorance, but at least one person in their trio knew not to take his words at face value. "But if it doesn't want to be found, it won't let you."

"You're lying." Desmond resisted the urge to wail on the man like he had at the docks. True, it would bring him a measure of satisfaction to see the man who tried to ruin his life with his face in the dirt. But then they'd never find the light. "Where is it?"

"Desmond, listen to me-"

"No, I'm tired of hearing your lies!" Desmond took one step toward Ben, his hands balled into fists. Ben stood his ground, though it didn't take a psychic to know he was afraid. "You lied to those people I stranded on the Island. You treated our lives like a game!"

"It was for the good of the Island!" Ben held his ground, but Desmond wasn't about to let up.

"The Island, huh? The Island told you to shoot me and kill my wife?!" Desmond's frown deepened. His two newfound companions looked uncertain. He was a hair trigger away from going all out on Ben. "It was never about the Island. It was about you."

That struck Ben harder than any bullet. He visibly flinched, swallowed the lump in his throat and looked away. Desmond looked back at his two new acquiantances and said, "Leave him. Let's go."

"Desmond, think about what you're-" Ben quickly ran after him and made a grab for his shoulder, but Desmond moved aside and threw a punch far worse than anything Mitchell had done to him. Ben fell on to his back, and Mitchell had to step in to stop Desmond from outright beating the hell out of their only lead.

"Wait! Now hang on a second!" By the time Mitchell spoke up, Desmond pulled away and stepped back, shaking his head while glaring at Ben through his tears. But the colonel focused instead on Ben. "Let me get this straight. You're saying the Island can speak?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether or not you're telling the truth." Ben matched Mitchell's gaze. Desmond was right. He knew something. "The Island's already been attacked once by people like you. Twice even." None of that meant anything to SG-1. But Ben wasn't the type to explain anything. "It's learned to be cautious. If it doesn't want to be found, you won't find it."

"The light." Samantha looked at Cameron, suddenly realizing what Ben was saying. He referred to the light as 'the island'. Even Mitchell knew what it probably meant.

"Could it?"

Wordlessly, Carter nodded. If this light was, as Daniel suggested, the creation of an ascended Ancient, it could be an ascended being in its own right. The Ancients' equivalent of an artificial intelligence, if such an analogy worked.

"What are you sayin'?" Desmond only knew what they'd told him aboard the Odyssey and in the Light Post. He couldn't begin to guess what they were thinking. "That it's alive?"

"The Heart of Atlantis." But something else didn't make sense. Mitchell faced Sam and asked, "I thought the journal said it was underground."

"It could be, sir. Whatever's up here might just be an access point."

"I can't take you to the light." Ben stood and wiped the blood off his lip from where Desmond hit him. "But I can take you to the temple."

"Temple?" Mitchell glanced back at Desmond, but the latter remained focused on Ben.

"It's where the first people who came to this island worshiped it." Where he and a group of others had also, before he learned the truth. "You can still find what you're looking for. You'll just have to follow me."

As if that _wasn't_ a bad idea...

* * *

After his latest stunt, Colonel Jensen sat locked up in a room on the Odyssey being questioned by Daniel. In a few minutes, he'd be transferred to SGC for interrogation. No matter what Daniel asked, he'd say nothing. Why did he go after the device? Did he know what it was? What was he trying to do? Is he working for someone who ordered him to acquire the technology? The NID? The shadowy group covering up the misdeeds of one Alvar Hanso, as Carter and Mitchell had discovered earlier?

When he realized he wouldn't be getting any answers, Daniel left the room more perturbed than when he entered. Akharin stood with his back against the wall, arms crossed and a distrusting look in his eye. He'd agreed to let the device be locked away again, but this time, with an access code only he and Daniel knew. That didn't mean he agreed to the military escort, however. The soldier with a hand on the pistol at his waist watched Akharin cautiously. After hearing how the immortal had been a Goa'uld, he'd be prepared for anything.

"The colonel isn't talking." Daniel rubbed his forehead in a futile effort to ward off a growing headache. "I can't get through to him."

At first, it looked like Akharin wouldn't say anything. Instead, he eyed Daniel as if trying to sort out his mixed feelings about his former pupil. Then, he spoke in a hushed voice. "Imagine that." He tilted his head slightly, a common gesture he made whenever testing someone. "Talking to someone who doesn't understand."

Daniel had also been trying to sort out his thoughts about everything Akharin told him. He glanced back at the guard but only long enough to confirm he was there. He wasn't sure he wanted to be anywhere near this man without the added protection.

"What did you mean back there?" Daniel crossed his arms, creased his brow and watched Akharin for an answer. "About a mistake?"

Akharin frowned. "A mistake is a mistake. What else is there to say?"

Exasperated, Daniel started to walk away. This caught Akharin by surprise, so he followed after a brief look toward his escort. Soon enough, they'd end up in the lift, which Daniel set to take them up to the bridge. After the doors closed, he turned to Akharin with an expression which belied the anger he withheld.

"I know you have no reason to trust us." Daniel stopped short of saying they didn't trust Akharin either. After all, the man _did_ divulge a spectacular story that he could've kept to himself. He'd taken a leap of faith for Daniel. "We haven't exactly given you any reason why you should." Especially since they'd kidnapped him. "But don't you think not telling me would be the bigger mistake? You should've trusted me."

"If I had, this... incident... would never have happened." Akharin confirmed exactly what Daniel thought. But he wasn't fully convinced by Daniel's argument. "Then word would spread. Another would attempt what your Colonel Jensen tried."

"How do you know that?" Daniel looked at him expectantly. Akharin realized he'd just given away more than he intended and went quiet. Before he could answer, if he'd been planning to in the first place, the door opened to the bridge. When Daniel didn't get what he was looking for, he shook his head and stepped out, heading for the communications console. Akharin remained near the back, trying to avoid meeting the distrusting gaze of the guard.

General Landry appeared on the monitor in front of the woman sitting at the console. Daniel leaned forward so he could see him better. "Doctor Jackson." Landry's poor excuse for a greeting went ignored as Daniel reported the results of his impromptu interrogation. "Well, it sounds like our colonel doesn't want to let on to the idea he knows more than we do."

"That makes two of them," Daniel muttered, looking over his shoulder at the stolid figure of his former mentor... or whatever identity he went by now.

"Yes, how is our other guest?" Landry fully expected to get _something_ out of this mess. "Has he been any more forthcoming?"

"Not yet." Daniel confirmed what he already knew. He just didn't want to hear it. "Have you found out anything about him? Who he pretends to be?"

"We sent the image you gave us to our friends at the NID for confirmation." Landry frowned. "I'm afraid we haven't heard back yet."

Daniel silently cursed under his breath. Another stonewall. As he looked up at the beautiful view outside the window, he began to wonder back to what Akharin said in the elevator. Worried, he looked back at Landry and suggested, "Or maybe it never got through."

Landry narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Despite his better judgment, Daniel decided to tell Landry he'd get back to him and left the general to stand there on the other side of the comm line, annoyed at being brushed off again. This time, Daniel would take Akharin by the arm and drag him off to the side where nobody but perhaps the guard could hear them.

"Okay, let's say you're right. Somebody else would've went after the device." Dr. Jackson tried his best to convince Akharin to give him more information. Something he could work with. "Would they have any friends in the highest levels of government?"

Akharin wasn't sure if he should answer at first. Daniel proved to have a properly tuned moral compass. Perhaps moreso than most people. That didn't make him infallible, however.

"You don't have to tell me everything at once. It's probably better you didn't." Daniel had already been bombarded with more than enough information to digest for the next week. When Akharin hesitated, Daniel offered a compromise. "But you have to trust somebody." At this point, he was practically begging. "Whoever those people are, the ones you're so afraid of-if they've infiltrated Stargate Command, what makes you think you can stop them alone?"

A voice of reason. One that Akharin didn't want to acknowledge. "It's _my_ burden to bear."

"No. It's not." Daniel's intense gaze caught Akharin's eye and kept him there, unable to turn away. "It's time to stop hiding. Please."

It took some time to consider the consequences, but when Akharin heard the genuine concern in Daniel's voice, he knew he'd have to say something. Even if it meant taking a risk. Something he hadn't done in centuries.

"Alright." Enki started by answering Daniel's question. "Yes. They go by many names. Humans who struggle against each other for the power you witnessed." Apples of Eden. Actually a mistranslation of the Isu term 'Aplei', a word roughly meaning 'celestial gift'. "They were meant for one purpose, and one purpose only. To subjugate and enslave your kind."

Slowly but surely, Daniel began to realize why Akharin withheld this secret from the beginning. Why he refused to share even when he knew it might be in his best interests.

"You are my greatest mistake."

Humanity. When Apsu and his successor, Anu, arrived on Earth, they used Unas slaves to mine and hunt for resources. Eventually, the Unas began to die, their minds degrading from the effects of the Apples of Eden. They needed a replacement. A species who could survive.

Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing. He always suspected alien interference on Earth over ten thousand years ago, but to think _this_... it was unbelievable. Sure, he'd read it on the emerald tablet held in Cepheus' ha'tak, but to hear it straight out of the horse's mouth...

"How?" Daniel knew enough about evolution to know humanity wasn't just brought out of the sand. They couldn't have simply been 'created', as Enki claimed.

"I spliced your gene code with ours; made you in our hosts' image." That explained why the Ancients looked a lot like modern humans despite living millions of years ago. "Your minds are more... malleable." His face fell, guilt hung over it like a storm cloud. "I killed a close friend of mine... to use his symbiote's neural pattern in building yours. This kept you from ascending as a species. From understanding the nature of the universe beyond."

"That's why you came back." Akharin hadn't expected Daniel's ability to listen. Most humans would rather talk, in his experience. And in spite of the fact they had a conspiracy to uncover, Daniel still made time for this. To him, it was nothing short of a miracle. "Because you felt you owed it... to Kingu." Enki's eyes grew wide, and he quickly lowered his head. Though overwhelmed, he tried to keep it to himself. "The man you killed. To make _us_."

"When I found your kind spread across the Earth, I knew I couldn't protect you alone." After a moment of silence, one which he'd hoped would stretch into eternity, Akharin looked up again and answered his original question. He didn't want to dwell on the past any more than Daniel could afford. "So I entrusted a few with our... Pieces of Eden."

Then the snake came. Only, it wasn't a snake. It was human. Greed. Fear. Pride. Mankind's own ego betrayed them. They turned on Enki, and then each other.

"Your colonel may be getting help from one such group." Akharin frowned. "Who it is, I can't say."

So close, and yet...

"Some of them are likely working in your government. Others hide among civilians, leading communities and shaping society." At this point, Akharin gauged Daniel's reaction. It would tell him everything. "Seven thousand years, I've watched my mistake grow beyond my control. Watched as you killed and maimed first in our names," that of the Isu, whose names resembled the gods of old that the Goa'uld themselves likely appropriated later. "And then in yours."

Although he didn't want to admit it, Daniel understood why Akharin didn't want to trust him with this task. He already had, and look how it ended. Everything, all of human history, could be traced back to this man and his people, the Anunnaki. They were simply emulating what their gods had done to each other-doing what Enki programmed them to do.

Yet humanity could learn from their mistakes. Daniel had seen it. Maybe they were millennia away from becoming what the Ancients were. But Daniel believed they could get there. And that's the first thing Akharin saw in his eyes. The first glimmer of hope he'd seen in all these years.

"Help us." Daniel reiterated, knowing full well his former mentor had seen that in him all those years ago when he brought him in as his favorite pupil. "Please."

Akharin stared back... and, finally, he tilted his head. He would help.

He only hoped it wasn't a mistake.

* * *

Numerous wooden huts decorated with the scaly skins of killed Nibirans and their bones housed those who had arrived on the planet. Even a few symbiote bones could be seen strung along the Nibirans' upper arms as a status symbol. Husks hung off the roofs with thin, silky string, like bait on a fishing hook. Everything about the way these invaders lived proved more alien than anything Teal'c had ever seen.

In a field between several buildings, a group of Nibirans dragged Teal'c - his wrists and legs bound with some kind of rope, before his armor and shirt had been disposed of - toward a noticeably cleaner building. Around him, dead Jaffa were scattered about, their torsos ripped open with dead symbiotes beside them. At least one hanging out of a Jaffa's pouch continued to squirm. Teal'c grit his teeth and tried not to let the sight get to him.

Finally, his captors brought him before one of their own holding some kind of pole-arm with a wickedly sharp falx at the tip. He stood to the side at the foot of a small flight of steps which led on to a short deck in front of the building. With difficulty, he raised his head to see why he'd been brought there. First, he saw a pair of distinctly pale feet wearing wooden sandals. Further up, he began to see a layered robe, a human hand and... a glowing orb of bronze and gold making a low, humming noise, held in the woman's right hand.

"Asavuh, Jaffa." Her eyes glowed. A Goa'uld. "You're a long way from home."

"As are you." Teal'c defiantly narrowed his eyes. Any other Goa'uld would call it insolence. But, instead, this Goa'uld merely lowered the sphere she held and regarded him with curiosity. Though he didn't know it, she'd never encountered others so quick of wit. Certainly not among anyone but her own kind. The result was... satisfying.

"Indeed," the woman answered with an amused smirk. "Much further than you know."

Although Teal'c would've broken free of his captors and attacked, if he'd had the energy, a question lingered in his mind. "Why did you attack us?"

"Will an answer change anything?"

That gave Teal'c a chance to think. Regardless of reasons, they'd kidnapped his son, killed over a hundred Jaffa and undoubtedly planned to kill many more. He scowled. "No."

"Honesty." She sounded shocked, though not so much as to let down her guard. Her eyes scoured his as if searching for something. "Cepheus told us not to expect it."

Teal'c stayed silent. His gaze never faltered for even a second. If he was to die, at least she wouldn't have the satisfaction of seeing fear in his eyes.

"We didn't plan on you finding us this soon." Aziru had spoiled their plans. But more than that, so had Cepheus. Teal'c almost cracked a smile at the irony of it.

"Cepheus has betrayed you." Not directly, but that didn't change the facts. "He attempted to lead us here."

"I know." She stood as unmoving as a statue, a product of her species' incredible amount of patience inherited by their Ancient hosts. "I am Inara. On behalf of the Anunnaki, I extend my deepest regrets to you and your people for the deception. We know so little about you."

Regret? Teal'c steeled his anger at her apology for the moment. "What?"

"You see, we had an arrangement with your lord, Ba'al." Inara tilted her head slightly. "I hear he passed away. Is that right?"

Whatever she didn't know, Teal'c could potentially use against her. If her words meant anything, they suggested she and Cepheus didn't entirely trust one another. Though hardly a tactic worthy of an honorable warrior, Teal'c asked, "Why not ask your ally?"

"Because his ambitions do not align with ours." At that, Inara finally began to pace slowly around Teal'c. Her expression revealed no satisfaction or pleasure derived from seeing his fully battered and bloodied form. In fact, she kept her eyes on her feet, calculating each step to avoid each stone or uneven crack in the earth. "His are the children of man. Weak. Fallible." She stopped mid-step and examined the tangle of bodies nearby. "Yours are... different."

As all Jaffa learned from the time they emerged from the womb, they were created by their gods. Bred and raised to be the warriors, the soldiers who gave their lives to fight in their masters' petty conflicts with each other. Unlike many, Teal'c learned the truth. They were, from the inception of their race, the product of only one Goa'uld: Thoth. A minor lord who went unmentioned in the System Lords' efforts to legitimize their being worshiped.

Incubators. Apart from fighting in their lords' armies, the Jaffa nursed the Goa'uld symbiotes in their abdomen. That's what set them apart from the tau'ri. Inara had never seen anything like it before. The Anunnaki cared for their symbiotes in artificial pools of steaming water, much as their ancestors had done in caves.

"Every day, more of us are killed to feed these... _Drengin_." Inara used that word as if to mean 'beast' or 'monster'. She looked around at the Nibirans, who stared off into space as if they had no minds of their own. Subtly, the orb in her hand gave an ever so slightly stronger glimmer, and Teal'c noticed the soldiers tightening their grips on whatever weapons they held. "It cannot go on. We need a way out."

"Then why do they accept your commands?"

Inara pondered telling him the answer, her own grip tightening around the sphere she held. This didn't go unnoticed by Teal'c either. "Cepheus believed we could force your people to surrender. To give us what we need." She focused on Teal'c from where she stood like a rock. No straight answer, but if he'd known about Daniel's experience with Akharin, that shouldn't have come as a shock. "A chance to survive."

A terrifying realization dawned on Teal'c. "You intend to use us to incubate your young."

"Not quite." That surprised Teal'c, but did nothing to make him feel any less reticent about what the Anunnaki were planning. "What I intend to do is of no consequence to you. Not to a man about to be executed." Hoisting the sphere in her hand, she wordlessly ordered the one with the falx to step forward. The guards at either side of Teal'c stepped on his legs and pressed down on his shoulders until he was staring up at the sky in confusion.

The cold, rough steel of the weapon lightly touched the area above his symbiote pouch. Though he no longer carried a symbiote, that wouldn't save him should they decide to rip him open like all the other Jaffa. Teal'c grit his teeth and prepared for the inevitable.

Suddenly, a staff blast struck the Nibiran carrying the falx, throwing him aside. Those holding Teal'c down moved for their guns but were equally cut down by the attack. An army of Jaffa streamed out of the forest, firing on any Nibiran who got in their way. The Nibirans fought back, but having been caught by surprise, they were in no position to win.

Before the Jaffa could reach their position, Inara turned the orb toward them. Since he couldn't stand or even lunge far enough to throw off her aim, Teal'c shouted at the advancing soldiers. Whether they heard him or not, they'd be too late to take cover. A burst of energy erupted from the sphere and downed an entire batallion of Jaffa.

While she was distracted, Teal'c fell on to his side and used the blade of the falx to cut through the bonds on his wrist. Just as he began working on those at his ankles, Inara noticed and raised her weapon again, this time toward him. Unable to stand and take cover fast enough, Teal'c closed his eyes and braced himself. He would die... free.

Yet... he didn't. When he opened his eyes, he instead saw the sky flashing red and blue. A thick, blue mist surrounded him, but he could still see the bodies of his fellow Jaffa. Though uncertain what was happening, he knew he had to get to a weapon- one more familiar to him. He ran to a staff weapon lying near a Jaffa's body near another building.

The moment he grabbed it, he heard something running toward him from behind. He hoisted his staff, spun around, and fired when he saw a Nibiran brandishing a pole-axe charging at him. Another emerged from elsewhere in the mist, again wielding the falx in an effort to get at his non-existent symbiote. Another blast from the staff weapon ended his ambition.

Surprisingly, another struck out from behind the building Teal'c had crouched beside. Quickly, it struck at his face with the blunt end of his pole-arm and kicked the staff weapon out of Teal'c's grasp simultaneously. Teal'c responded with a kick at the creature's leg, throwing it off-balance long enough for him to stand and engage with it on a more equal battleground.

But nothing about the ensuing fight was equal. Every move Teal'c made, the Nibiran anticipated. Few of his attacks landed home, and those that did failed to dissuade the Nibiran from trying harder. It let out a beastly howl before Teal'c clashed with it again. Step, punch, parry, grapple, leap, swing, dodge. Each motion reminded Teal'c of his fight with Arkad. Though it had been years ago, he still remembered it like it was yesterday.

Just as his attention faltered, just for a moment, the Nibiran swept Teal'c off his feet and held him to the ground with the pole of his falx. Again, it opened its horrible mouth, and Teal'c closed his eyes.

"Stop this, Teal'c!"

When Teal'c opened them again, he saw the face of Bra'tac, which had clearly taken a few bruises. His eyes feverishly searched Teal'c's for any sign of his former pupil.

"What have they done to you?" Bra'tac sounded as worried as when Teal'c had been brainwashed by Apophis. A terrible event Teal'c remembered in full. "Come back to us!"

Still in a daze, Teal'c blinked. "Master Bra'tac." When Bra'tac heard this, he eased off Teal'c slowly, drawing his own staff weapon back to his side. Teal'c sat up and looked around, confused. "What happened?" He saw the Jaffa attack the camp, and then...

"You killed two of your brothers."

Teal'c's heart skipped a beat. He peered over his shoulder at the two Nibirans he'd killed. Except... they weren't Nibirans.

"Teal'c," Bra'tac demanded his attention, but Teal'c could only stare listlessly at the men he'd unintentionally murdered. Inara was nowhere to be found. "Teal'c, listen to me!" At that, Teal'c slowly turned away and faced his mentor. "We must get you off this planet. Our fleet can only hold Cepheus off for so long."

With Bra'tac's help, Teal'c weakly stood and followed him back to where Bra'tac had brought the ship. When Rya'c saw his father again, he wasted no time running to him, to help Bra'tac carry him inside. As Teal'c began to lose consciousness, his last thoughts were on the tragedy he'd unintentionally caused...

And what it could mean if the Anunnaki ensnared them all in their illusions.


	8. Elysium's Void P2: Chapter 3

Somehow, Desmond wasn't expecting Ben to be telling the truth. He figured they'd be led to his people, who - like the psychopaths they were - would shoot on sight. At least that's how Desmond remembered them. Surely good men and women wouldn't follow a demon like Ben?

"We're here." Ben's statement caused Desmond to look up. Indeed, they were at the moss-covered, ancient stone walls that marked the boundary of the temple. Sam glanced at the device in her hand and shook her head at Mitchell. No light. "I told you."

Mitchell sighed and wandered up to the wall, brushing aside some vines so he could get a better look at the crude writing etched on it. They looked like hieroglyphs, but he couldn't translate them. When Sam stepped close, he whispered, "Starting to think we should've brought Jackson along."

"Not much we can do about it now. Our radio won't penetrate the field surrounding the island." Carter looked at the hieroglyphs and frowned. "But these don't look like Goa'uld. Not modern, anyway."

"How can you tell?" To Mitchell, all hieroglyphs looked the same.

Carter didn't want to dredge up old memories, but... "Jolinar."

"The tok'ra that... oh." When she gave him a look as if hoping he wouldn't say it, Mitchell quieted down. It wasn't the memories that disturbed her so much as the fact they'd find relevance again so many years later. A lot of things from those days were coming back to haunt SGC ever since Daniel started looking into these 'sons of Apsu'. "Can you read it?"

"I think so." Well, that was a let-down. "It looks like an older dialect than the one Jolinar used."

"Excuse me." They turned to see Ben standing there beside the wall, at the foot of a tower slightly resembling those seen in old Hindu temples marking where the wall split off in two directions. "We still have a long way to go."

Unfortunately, he wasn't kidding. Ben pushed the stone wall open like a doorway, ushering them through. Before they knew it, they were out wandering through thick foliage blanketing stone bricks and broken walls. It reminded Mitchell a little of Ramadi in those news reports a few years ago. So much of the city had been reduced to rubble.

Half a mile later, they'd finally see what amounted to an actual temple. A fairly small structure shaped like a stepped pyramid awaited them across a still pond. Like the pyramid on Abydos, this one had a large opening at its base. But whatever could be said about it, it definitely wasn't as impressive a sight-nor was it _really_ a pyramid.

"Where are we?" Desmond, however, had never seen anything like it.

"I don't know." Strange to see the sociopath that was Benjamin Linus being honest and up front about _anything_. Desmond expected him to start talking in riddles again, as he usually did. "Whoever built this temple worshiped the light you're looking for."

"Correct me if I'm wrong-" Mitchell narrowed his eyes as he took all this in. "But this doesn't look very Egyptian."

"I know," Ben confirmed with a curt nod as he led the way around the pond, careful not to trip on any vines.

"Sooo," Mitchell intentionally slurred. "What's up with the hieroglyphs out front?"

"Don't ask me." Another attempt by Ben to evade the question. Or did he really not know? "All I know is this isn't your typical Egyptian structure. The man who used to live here, one of my people's leaders, said it belonged to his ancestors... Cambodian, I believe."

Although she only had a cursory knowledge of history, Carter knew a bit about famous monuments from high school. And with a memory like hers, it would be hard to forget. "I knew this looked familiar. Angkor Wat."

Unlike her, Mitchell barely paid attention in high school. Actually, he slept most of the time. "Angkor what?"

"Sir, the Egyptians stopped using hieroglyphs _long_ before this type of structure was built."

"How can that be?" Desmond, always one to ask what was on everybody's minds, threw that question into the air, half-expecting Ben to be the one answering it. Instead, as they closed in on the front entrance to the temple, someone else would step in.

"Des!"

Sunlight shined on a familiar face as he emerged from the relative darkness in the temple. A smile crossed Desmond's lips. "Hugo?"

Before anyone could react, Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes swept Desmond up into his arms and gave him the biggest squeeze he'd ever experience. "Dude, it's been, like, _forever_!"

"I've missed you too, Hugo." Once Hurley let him get back on his feet, Desmond had to ask: "What are you still doin' here? I thought everyone got back to the mainland."

"Not me." For some reason Desmond didn't understand, given all the years he'd spent in this godforsaken hellhole, Hugo didn't sound particularly sad. A bit whistful, maybe. "I, uh..." Suddenly, that rather positive-sounding voice dimmed a little. "I'm the new Jacob."

Mitchell didn't want to bother asking who that was anymore. After asking questions and getting strange mouthfuls of answers all day, he just wanted to _do_ something.

"Who's your friends?" When Hugo changed the subject, Desmond remembered the two he'd met earlier that morning. Without much fanfare, he introduced Colonel Mitchell and Samantha Carter. They didn't shake hands, but then again, Hugo looked afraid they'd bite if he tried.

"They're here to find the light," Benjamin so helpfully explained. "You can help them, can't you?"

Hugo warily glanced between them, unsure what to do. It was times like this he'd hope Ben could step in with his years of leadership experience, but not even Ben could help them this time. Though they both benefited from its power, only Hurley knew how and where to find it. He'd become connected to it, as though his life depended on it. Ben also felt a connection, but whether it was something on the island or his conscience, nothing he did could ever bring it out of hiding.

"Depends." That's all the answer Hugo would give. Not until he got some answers.

Though Mitchell wasn't happy at having to explain everything again, he swallowed his pride and did. Unlike Benjamin, whose expression had remained the same through much of their story, Hurley proved more animated. Excited, even. Again, the colonel couldn't compromise their non-disclosure agreement, but Landry gave them some leeway in this case. Besides, given that this island was out of phase with the rest of Earth, how would two simple guys like this end up getting that information out to others?

"Dude." Hugo was both enthused and terrified at their revelation. "So, like... you guys travel to other planets?"

 _Don't make me repeat myself for the hundredth time_ , Mitchell thought bitterly. "Yes."

"Woah." SG-1's story left Hugo speechless. Who wouldn't be? On the other hand, he had a hard time believing them. "You're not here to steal the light, are you?"

Sam shook her head. "We just want to analyze it." Like with Ben, she showed Hurley the scanner and explained how it worked. They'd need to get up close to find out what the light is, and if it was connected to Atlantis somehow.

"I can tell you what the light is." Hugo half-heartedly answered. Ben watched him anxiously but held his tongue. "It's like... heaven. Right?" He glanced at Ben, who looked down when he couldn't answer. "Like, some doorway between this life and the next."

Desmond believed him, or so his memories of that day made him. Even if what SG-1 had told him about the light was true, it didn't change the fact he'd met people who had died in that dream. Wouldn't that have made it an afterlife by any definition of the word? Purgatory?

"Look, we just need to confirm it." Cameron wasn't about to play twenty questions again. He nodded toward the temple. "Then we'll be on our way."

Hugo and Ben shared a look. Then, in a surprising twist in Desmond's mind, Ben silently led them into the temple. Knowing something they didn't, Hurley stayed back. Soon enough, Ben took them into a passage leading beneath the temple through some musty old halls.

"The light was tied to a creature that lived on the island," Ben clarified as they warily made their way deeper into the bowels of the labyrinth. "One which I could summon."

"Summon?" Mitchell gripped his P90 more tightly. "The hell does that mean?"

Ben didn't answer. Instead, he kept walking until they found themselves in an open chamber. Four pillars held a high ceiling, and a bizarre mural with drawings and hieroglyphs stood dead center in the wall ahead. Beneath that was an equally curious series of holes bored into the floor.

"Where did you bring us?" Again, Desmond had to be the one to ask. Mitchell and Sam were too busy getting their bearings, and Hugo stayed close to the entrance.

"Where I made my first mistake." Nobody knew what Ben referred to, but Hugo at least had some idea. After having a long, stoic look around, he eyed SG-1. "What do you see?"

Sam scanned the room for a moment. Nothing. Mitchell sighed and started looking around.

"Wait!" As Sam wandered around, to see if the scanner might pick something up at the edge of its range, she stopped up near the mural. "I'm picking up some energy signatures behind this wall." Before Mitchell could ask, she looked up at him. "I've never seen this before."

"Well, it never hurts to be prepared." Mitchell reached into the pack he carried at his hip and removed a small stick of C4. Just as he moved to the wall with it, Benjamin realized what he planned to do and stepped in front of him.

"You can't do that."

"And why not?" Mitchell raised an eyebrow. He knew Daniel wouldn't approve, but for once, they were fortunate he wasn't here. Ben stared him down.

"Because if you do, you'll be desecrating this island."

Cameron backed up a tad and thought about what Ben said. Then he turned to Hugo and asked, "You agree with him?"

It took Hurley a while to think of an appropriate answer. He knew Ben had the most experience with the island, and he'd learned a lot from him. On the other hand, Hugo wasn't the Jacob of Ben's time. The only way they could move on from the Others was to leave the past behind. It was time to tell the truth. Not hide behind vague answers like that mural.

Hugo shook his head. Ben swallowed the growing lump in his throat. Why...? But then, it wasn't like he couldn't hear Hurley's thoughts. He knew why. But was it really the only way?

"Do it." Though Desmond hadn't been here before, he knew this was where the Others lived before they were wiped out. This is where it all began. Teeth grit, he added, "Blow this whole damn place to hell."

"Four against one. Majority rules." Mitchell smirked victoriously at Ben, who could only glare back for one last, long moment. When Ben reluctantly moved aside, the colonel approached the mural and fixed the C4 to its base, planting a detonator and suggesting everybody take cover. The pillars could provide some cover, but to avoid debris, they were better off in the tunnel where Hugo stood. Once he pulled the remote out of his vest pocket, he shouted, "Fire in the hole!"

The resulting explosion barely shook the building. Fortunately, it didn't all come down around them. Mitchell had made that assessment before planting the C4. He'd been wrong before though.

Warily, Cameron emerged first from the hall, P90 aimed straight ahead at the freshly-made hole in the wall. As he got closer, he started to notice thin lines of blue light running down through a metal stairwell. Unlike the chamber outside, though, this one looked far more smooth. Even downright advanced by comparison.

"My god." Ben blinked after he followed the two colonels out.

"The energy readings are coming from down there," Sam noted with a slight grimace. She had a bad feeling about this.

Desmond took the first step toward the stairwell, but Hugo stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Wait." Hugo's demand caught the others' attention. "I don't think we should go down there." When Mitchell asked why not, Hugo blurted out, "Because this place is cursed!"

Those words caught Ben in particular by surprise. He'd always known of Hugo's ordeal with the curse that drove him to this island. Probably the most inexplicable mystery ever endured by anyone who ended up on the island. But he didn't realize Hugo feared the curse would return - here, of all places. Perhaps he felt this is where it had originated?

"Hugo," Desmond tried to assuage his old friend, but Hugo wasn't having it.

"No! Listen to me!" Hugo stared down the stairwell. It led to a bright room with a soft, blue glow. Then he looked up at Sam and Mitchell. "I can't let you both go down there."

"You gonna stop us?" Mitchell grew tired of their investigation getting blocked by paranoia every time they made progress. But he thought he'd humor their newfound acquiantance.

Hugo found himself at a loss for words. He couldn't explain it. "If you do, I'll have to... I'll... use my Jacob powers on you!"

"'Jacob' powers?" Mitchell must've missed something. When it became clear Hugo wouldn't explain, the colonel nodded dismissively. "You were the one who gave us the go-ahead."

"That's because I didn't think you'd actually _find_ anything!" Hurley sounded increasingly agitated. He was scared. Whenever people got involved with this island, their lives were cursed. That's why he wanted to keep people out. Convince them there was nothing to find so they would leave. "You'll die if you go down there!"

"Fine, then stay here." Mitchell side-stepped Hurley and glanced back over his shoulder before starting the long journey ahead. "Sam."

"No! Stop!" Hugo shouted, but the two went ahead anyway. Sam, at least, gave him an apologetic look before following. Desmond looked over at Hugo in confusion.

"Why'd you want to keep 'em from goin' down there?"

Hugo stared at where the two members of SG-1 had stood moments earlier. Quietly, he answered under his breath:

"Because some things are better left a mystery."

* * *

Minutes ago, Teal'c and his entourage had returned to the ha'tak commanded by Bal'kor. They'd evaded almost half a dozen death gliders while under cloak, and even flew past a battle raging in the heavens above what Salgor called Kona. The two fleets fought well. As Bra'tac said, the Jaffa had a slight advantage, but Cepheus was persistent. Teal'c learned long ago never to underestimate those fanatically devoted to their cause.

As the deck shook, Teal'c stumbled on to the bridge, Bra'tac and one of the soldiers still supporting him. Bal'kor grit his teeth as he glared at the viewscreen. They were performing very difficult manuevers to predict and avoid enemy fire, all the while firing back with their own staff cannons.

"How goes the battle?" Bra'tac opened with this question, just as he stepped ahead of Teal'c.

"They are determined." Bal'kor wordlessly sent a message to a nearby ship in the Jaffa fleet to come about and fire on their target from below. He did so via a simple comm unit installed to the armrest on his chair. Though not a tech often used by the System Lords, the Jaffa began implementing it on the advice of their Tau'ri allies. With a toothy grin, the old man added, "But so are we."

Countless fireballs rained down on one of Cepheus' ha'taks from two directions. They'd already weakened the shields, and this tactic would've led to a quick end for the ship.

Just as the enemy ha'tak's shields collapsed and the viewscreen filled with light from the resulting explosion, something happened.

"A vessel is emerging from hyperspace!"

"Not expecting company, are you?" Vala turned to Bra'tac. Before the old man could answer what they all feared, the viewscreen focused on the newcomer.

It was an Ancient warship.

Teal'c and the rest were stunned. Atlantis had sent back data regarding Ancient technology. The Tau'ri shared that data with their allies.

They just never expected to find it here... in an enemy's hands.

"Bring us about! Warn the others-" Bal'kor's order was too little, too late. Without warning, the Ancient vessel unleashed a horde of drones into the battle - each one targeting a Jaffa ship. Much as the Ori beam weapons, the drones passed right through the shields of those they targeted, exploding and tearing apart the enormous pyramids and their support structures. His eyes grew wide. "Impossible..."

An explosion rocked the deck, ingloriously throwing everyone across the room. Unfortunately, it also sent the helmsman forward, cracking his skull against the edge of the console before flinging him to the side like a rag doll. As the smoke began to clear, it was obvious they'd be sitting ducks if they remained here.

Rya'c was the first to sit up and notice. After a short but concerned look to his father, he stood and ran over to the helm. Laying his hands on the surface of the altar, Rya'c began to pilot the ship. Several more drones were heading straight for them. With hyperdrive down, it would take all of Rya'c's concentration and skill to evade them long enough for the others to escape.

"Go!" Rya'c shouted as one of the drones struck the hull despite his efforts. He knew the others had recovered by now, so they undoubtedly heard him. "I'll buy you time!"

Of course, Teal'c refused to hear him. He would stay by his son's side even if it meant his own death. Bra'tac, noticing that look in Teal'c's eye, touched his shoulder and grimly nodded.

Before they could get that far, however, they heard the unmistakable sound of a zat'nik'tel firing into someone. When they turned, they were met with a hand pointing the weapon at them, the body of the Jaffa soldier lying unconscious next to its owner.

"Aziru?" Vala couldn't believe her eyes. Aziru looked mortified holding the zat, as if he'd hoped not to use it again. Something told her that was true.

"Hail the lead ship!" Nobody moved. Aziru glowered. "Do it... NOW!"

Bal'kor, who had already stood up beside his seat, quietly gave Rya'c the order. Though Rya'c was concentrated on getting as far away from the battle as they could, he heard everything and reluctantly did as ordered. Meanwhile, Vala gave Aziru a confused glance.

"What are you doing?"

Aziru narrowed his eyes at Teal'c, refusing to even acknowledge anything more than Vala's question. "I intend to give myself over to Cepheus in exchange for your lives."

"Our lives...?" Vala felt her heart get caught in her throat. This was Aziru's sacrifice. "No!" She blurted without a second thought. "No, you can't be serious!"

"You know nothing about me." Aziru's brow creased more deeply as he spoke. "For a thousand years, I was Ba'al. It is a name everyone will forever associate with me."

The Tok'ra, the Tau'ri, the Jaffa, Cepheus... they were all using him for who he'd been as Ba'al. The Tok'ra feared he could relapse. The Tau'ri needed Ba'al's memories of the Trust. The Jaffa needed a face to punish for crimes done to them. Cepheus wanted a familiar face to boost his peoples' confidence. None of them cared about the man he was... about Aziru.

"The man you call Aziru is dead."

As if right on cue, Cepheus' face appeared on the viewscreen. "Are you ready to surrender?"

Before anyone else could speak, Aziru stepped forward. It wasn't what Cepheus expected to see when he received the hail. His own god aboard one of the Jaffa's ships? Without waiting to hear Aziru's proposal, Cepheus ordered his ships to stand down. They couldn't risk killing one of their own. Especially not one with the memories of a god.

"Cepheus." Aziru recalled the man's name from his time as Ba'al, even if only small details remained after the Tok'ra-Reoul therapy. "End this... and I will come with you."

"You will?" Cepheus could hardly believe it. He reacted like a child whose father was returning home from war with a promise never to leave his son's side ever again. Part of that childlike sense of hope made even Aziru feel a twinge of guilt. Whatever horrors Ba'al put him through as a boy, Cepheus remained as loyal as Aziru's own son had been to him.

"Whatever it takes," Aziru reiterated. At that, Cepheus grinned widely and quickly nodded to someone off-screen. Rya'c noticed on his console that Cepheus' ships were backing away. All except for one, which slowly approached on an intercept course.

When the screen finally returned to that view of the stars beyond, Aziru lowered the zat and dropped it to the floor in front of Teal'c. He looked the old Jaffa once in the eye... and left.

Vala, of course, wasn't about to let him leave without a fight. A verbal one, at least.

"What makes you think Cepheus won't try and turn you into Ba'al again?" Even she could see how uncomfortable that made him feel. After all, Aziru's entire argument leaned on the hope he'd one day be seen - not as Ba'al - but as himself.

"What choice do I have?" Aziru frowned as he continued his long walk to the ring room.

"You have every choice!" Although as soon as she said it, Vala realized that was easier said than done. "We can escape on the cargo ship! You, me, Teal'c-"

"Then you would condemn over a thousand Jaffa to their deaths." Indeed, the tel'tak couldn't fit every single Jaffa in the fleet; and even the death gliders weren't numerous enough. They could beam to the planet's surface and try to reach the stargate, but just getting close enough to orbit would be unlikely with Cepheus' ships in place. They'd be bombarded from orbit even if they did.

Finally, the door to the cargo room slid open, and the two stepped in without another word. Aziru took a deep breath and began programming the rings to deposit him on the nearest ship. All the while, Vala tried to think of some other plan- _anything_ to keep Aziru from leaving. Nothing she considered could save the entire Jaffa fleet.

"Your effort is appreciated, Vala." Aziru tried to console her with those words. It didn't work. "But this is something I must do."

As Aziru wandered toward the ring platform, Vala looked at him with a mix of sorrow and anger in her eyes. Weakly, she said, "You're making a terrible mistake."

Aziru smiled softly. "Then, for once, it is _my_ mistake to make."

With that, the rings activated, ascending out of the floor all around him until all Vala could see was Aziru's eyes. He looked back at her one last time with a flicker of regret before the beam dematerialized him.

Vala felt something tug at her heartstrings. It was as if she'd failed. She let down Teal'c, now Aziru... who else had to suffer before she could save them?

Then the rings returned to the floor, leaving behind something she didn't expect. A book. Tentatively, she approached, not sure if it wasn't just some sort of trap sent by Cepheus. She crouched down to pick it up, quickly touching it once before she did - half expecting it to explode or something. Seeing as it didn't, however, she got a better look at it.

It was bound in leather, framed with metal and engraved in the center of the cover with an odd squiggle made of gold. The metal frame holding the cover together locked on to a golden spine. Curious, albeit worried, Vala slowly opened it to the front page.

There, written in what she recognized as Goa'uld, were the words: "The truth is on our side." Beneath that, subtitled in Goa'uld: "An Account of Atlantis as given by Aziz- Aziru."

Vala's heart skipped a beat.

"The Shepherd's Journal."

* * *

"Why do I get the feeling we're being watched?"

Colonel Mitchell felt a chill run down his spine. He and Colonel Carter had been walking through the alien temple for a while. Greco-Roman statues, or whatever they were, towered over the two from the sidelines. Although Mitchell wasn't an expert on mythology, he thought he recognized a few from the pictures in Daniel's briefing. Juno, Jupiter, Minerva... and a whole host of others he didn't know- each looking down at them as they crept forward.

Carter, on the other hand, tried her best to ignore them. After the first look, she thought it best to keep her eyes on the scanner. She was probably right. At the end of the hall, down another long flight of stairs, they'd find a much darker room lit only by lines of gold running along the floor, the walls and a myriad of pillars. But the moment they set foot past the bottom step, the scanner turned itself off. Startled, Sam tried to reactivate it. No luck.

It wasn't until Mitchell checked his watch that they knew. An electromagnetic field.

"We're getting close." Samantha lowered the scanner to her side. "We should keep going. The scanner indicated it's in a room at the end of this corridor."

Mitchell took a deep breath and followed her in. He hoped she knew what she was doing.

"Oh my god." After Mitchell followed her around a pillar, he saw what had caught Carter so off-guard. In front of them was a much larger, open chamber... and hovering close to the domed ceiling high above was what reminded Mitchell of one myth in particular.

"Is that...?" He didn't have to say it. They both could see it just fine.

A flying saucer.

"Unbelievable." Unbeknownst to either of them, Desmond had followed them through the depths of the temple, lagging behind due to his own fear and wonder.

When Desmond tried to take a step toward it, Mitchell roughly grabbed him by the arm, stopping him from almost walking off a cliff. They were over a dark pit with tall, rectangular slabs of metal jutting out in a chaotic pattern throughout. A single, thin bridge led them toward some kind of quartz-like altar at the end. Almost right above it, in the center of the underbelly of the saucer-shaped craft, a golden light shined over two black obelisks with diamond-shaped impressions in the corners facing the console.

"Why do all these ancient races build their secret underground lairs over endless pits?"

Last time they encountered one like this, it was in a cave containing a dragon and a fake piece of the Sangraal. That didn't include the chamber of the Crystal Skull, the Asgard testing chamber on Cimmeria or any one of Ba'al's many lairs.

"You heard what Daniel said." Sam elucidated anyway: "These people took everything they knew from the Ancients. And then some..." The obelisks and the ship were new.

Without a moment to lose, Carter started toward the console, while Mitchell held back and looked over at Desmond. "Where's the other two?"

Mitchell's question caught Desmond's attention, if only for a moment. "They wanted to stay behind. They're convinced there's a curse." Looking up at the strange vessel, he admitted in a breathless tone, "Maybe they were right."

"We should go one at a time," Carter emphasized. Like before, they didn't want to risk nudging each other off the side. With that, she went first. Though the scanner didn't work, she held it in her hand as if her life depended on it. Walking into the unknown wasn't easy, even to this day, over a decade later. She had to know. What she didn't, she had to learn.

Once standing at the console, she did a quick visual analysis for any similarities with Ancient technology. Instead, it was identical to the kind used by the Tok'ra. After a quick wave to Mitchell, she got to work activating it. One colored crystal to a slot on the left, another to a slot third from the right. Soon enough, the crystals all glowed simultaneously, and a holographic screen filled with data in Ancient appeared before her.

"Any chance you can translate it?" Mitchell said once he stepped up behind her. Reluctantly, he turned and gestured for Desmond to cross. Out of all of them, Desmond would take the longest, both out of terror and confusion. He wasn't used to the unfamiliar as much as SG-1.

"A little bit," Carter answered jokingly. "I didn't get to be commander of Atlantis without knowing a thing or two about the language the Ancients used."

Shifting a few crystals out of alignment and touching a shard of glass embedded with the smooth side facing outward near the edge, Carter activated the obelisks on either side. Bolts of lightning shot out from the diamond-shaped indentations until they met just behind the holographic display, which faded to offer a complete, unobtrusive view of what it formed.

"Carter?"

"I think it's a gateway," Carter finished Mitchell's thought. She'd noticed it on the display earlier.

"A gateway to what?"

Carter shook her head. "... I don't know."

Though it appeared to be a mirror with a glowing, blue aura around it, it showed the light hovering in the center of a smooth, cell-shaped room of highly reflective metal. Somehow, they weren't being blinded by the sight. They could even see what appeared to be water flowing in from a hole in the ceiling, hitting some sort of shimmering forcefield which formed a bubble around the light. As the water trickled down, it clung to the shield until reaching the bottom center, where it fell away into an opening beneath it.

Neither of them knew what to make of it.

 _Meanwhile, at Stargate Command..._

Daniel beamed down with Akharin a while ago. They both decided to keep the Apple locked away aboard the Odyssey with two passcodes- one known by Daniel, the other by Akharin. Both were required, and nobody else had access to it. For good reason, Daniel didn't trust that the device wouldn't compromise the security of the SGC. Akharin feared it would be confiscated and abused again if he carried it with him.

Landry wasn't happy to hear how one of the colonels he selected for command of the Odyssey betrayed them. Nor was he particularly happy meeting the one who presumably created whatever group that colonel worked for.

"So where do we start looking?" Landry glanced at Akharin but directed his question to Daniel. He didn't trust someone who would outlive him for thousands of years. "Where is this group of conspirators you mentioned?"

"Well..." Daniel had to mull it over a bit before answering. "We know the pyramids were built by the Goa'uld. We also know Thaddeus Thatch discovered a DHD in Mesopotamia." His enthusiasm for uncovering mysteries had died down over the years, echoed in the distressed way he presented those answers. "Asgard visited our planet and influenced the development of UFO culture. Earth's mythology is based on the actions of the Goa'uld."

"Your point, Dr. Jackson?" Landry interrupted, clearly impatient.

"My point is..." Daniel took a breath. What he was about to say would be as unbelievable to anyone as his pyramid theory. "If all those theories can be true, then maybe there's some truth to those conspiracy theories about- about a shadow organization operating in secret. The... Illuminati."

Landry, unconvinced, raised an eyebrow.

"I know how it sounds." Ridiculous. Crazy, more like it. Daniel pressed on regardless. "But think about it. These Isu... they left their technology behind, here- on Earth!"

"So did the Ancients," Landry added.

"But the Ancients only left us the stargate and the outpost in Antarctica."

"If I may." Akharin spoke suddenly, ending their back-and-forth for a moment. "The Ancients lived on Earth millions of years before either of us. My people's history on this world dates back tens of thousands. We never left willingly. We were destroyed. Had we left, we'd have taken our technology with us." A slight grimace crossed his lips. "The Altera were fortunate."

"You know more than you've let on." Landry glowered at Akharin, trying to maintain the status quo. As far as he was concerned, Akharin deserved his guilt; and the former Goa'uld needed to be reminded that he wasn't in control here. No matter how good his intentions appeared to be. Akharin tried to ignore it. "Tell us who we're looking for."

"Those you're looking for are-"

Akharin's voice caught in his throat. His eyes widened. Both Landry and Daniel noticed.

"Uh-" Daniel leaned forward and tried to get the man's attention. "What's wrong?"

Alarmingly, Akharin's eyes began to glow and simmer. The guards standing at the end of the room gripped their P90s anxiously. He'd grown quiet. And then...

"They found it."

 _Back on the island..._

While Carter worked on the console, trying to determine what they were seeing, Desmond braved the long walk to the platform beneath the enormous ship. Part of him couldn't believe it. He didn't _want_ to believe it. All this time...

"This- this can't be real." As he said that, Desmond lowered his gaze from the ship to the portal, eyes squinting slightly. Was it the same light he saw before?

"Hate to break it to ya," Mitchell quipped, unable to look away either. "Sam?"

"Give me a minute." Carter was a quick study. She figured out how to operate the console based on her understanding of Goa'uld crystal technology. They shared many similarities. Information on the screen above could be read in some sort of dialect of Ancient.

What she read troubled her. It may have rendered their whole journey a waste.

"This isn't it." Before Mitchell could even give her that annoyed look, Carter added, "It's definitely radiating some sort of EM energy. There's a sub-atomic particle in the center forming a complex matrix. Whoever built this place calls it... omega?"

Although neither of them had heard of it before, Mitchell felt a deep pit growing in his stomach as he faced the light. Alpha and omega... "Beginning and end."

"If this thing gets too unstable-"

"Yeah, I get the idea." Mitchell turned back to Desmond. "Any idea how to shut it down?"

"Shut-" Desmond seemed unwilling to even humor the notion, just as Ben had been in 'defiling' the temple. "No, no you can't!"

"Desmond, with that much energy-"

"We're looking at a ticking time bomb," Mitchell finished Carter's thought. "One that could destroy the whole damn world if something goes wrong."

Desmond looked putrified. Kelvin was right... but wrong at the same time. Either way, his newfound acquaintances outnumbered him two to one. But at least he had one reasonable argument on his side.

"Tampering with it could make things worse." Desmond shook his head and stared up at the portal. "Whoever built this place... don't you think they knew what they were doing?"

Neither colonel had an answer for him. Mitchell simply peered back at Carter, who went to work sorting through the alien database for answers. If there _were_ any, she'd find them.

"It's not right to mess with fate, brotha." Desmond's gaze caught on to Mitchell's.

Somehow, hearing those words didn't make Mitchell feel any better.

"According to this, a kinetically-charged forcefield is containing it." Sam read from notes in the monitoring program. The water which flowed down from the cave above continuously struck the field, keeping it active. Gravity distortions within the ship carried the stream into a pipe in the outer hull, depositing the water into a small cave upstream. "The way it is now, some of the energy it's emitting is keeping this island out of phase with normal matter. If more of the water were to impact the shield, it would bring the island into phase."

"... and if the water stopped?" Mitchell feared he knew the answer before she even said it.

Carter sighed and looked back at him. "Nothing good. If the particle isn't stabilized first, it could rupture the fabric of space-time. Earth and any systems for several light years would be engulfed in a massive black hole."

"No." Surprisingly, Desmond stepped forward. "No, it isn't what you think it is. I've seen it." Again, his eyes fixed on the light through the portal. "It's no bomb. It's-"

"Heaven on Earth, right." At least Mitchell hadn't forgotten that part. Desmond description of some kind of heavenly realm didn't go unnoticed. Nor did Carter's suggestion that it might partially ascend organic matter in close proximity. "What's the computer say?"

Carter shook her head. While they were talking, she used the time to delve deeper into the mage's lair. She found more descriptions of the light: how the shield gave way numerous times since the 1970s due to sediment build-up in part of the underground path the water followed; or that each time, pockets of energy 'reflected' off the omega were created- each one being formed further and further into the past, like tachyons.

"Trust me, brotha. You're not gonna find answers." When it became clear they wouldn't get any real answers out of the device, Desmond gave Mitchell a look. "You gotta take a leap of faith."

No more words had to be said. Mitchell could see the determination in Desmond's eyes. He knew what he planned to do. But as soon as Desmond stepped away, Mitchell grit his teeth and prayed he wasn't about to do something stupid.

He nudged Desmond out of the way and approached the portal, the golden glow reflected in his eyes. Carter noticed and called out, but he didn't hear. This close to the portal, he heard only a deep thrumming that reverberated down his spine.

"This better be worth it."

He stepped through... and, almost as suddenly, the portal disappeared in a flash.

Again. Carter saw it happen first to O'Neill and now to Mitchell. Her face paled. Desperately, she tried to reactivate the portal, but it wouldn't open. The system had the portal's code dialed in when she first activated it. After Mitchell passed through, the code was erased.

As she struggled to find it, Desmond stared at where Mitchell had disappeared. He glanced over to where the other man's friend now worked feverishly, fearing the worst. But he knew that Mitchell would be safe. Whatever the light was, it wasn't cruel.

It would send him wherever he needed to be.

* * *

"Incoming wormhole!"

Landry missed seeing the wormhole forming by the time he left his office and reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the briefing room. He thought the iris blocking the portal made it far less interesting. _Still, can't argue with success_ , he thought.

"Receiving SG-1's I.D.C."

Must be Teal'c and Vala. "Open the iris."

After the iris hissed open, they were taking a big risk. Landry wanted to start double-checking by making radio contact, but Teal'c and Vala both left in such a hurry, he didn't have the chance to assign them any. He made a mental note not to let them get away without one again.

Then two familiar faces stepped through. Teal'c at least partly relied on Vala to help him walk despite his injuries. Vala, on the other hand, looked no worse for wear. When the wormhole disengaged behind them, Landry knew they weren't followed. A small comfort, at least.

"What happened?" Landry decided to probe them for answers while a medical team arrived to ferry Teal'c to the infirmary. Vala looked none too eager to provide any answers.

"Long story."

Eventually, she and Landry sat at the briefing room table. Vala took her usual spot out of habit, though it put her a ways off from the general. Probably for the best.

She'd already finished telling him about her mission to the Reol homeworld and subsequent visit to Chulak. Everything from what Teal'c told her about the Anunnaki Nibirans and their Drengin slaves to their rescue of Rya'c and other captive Jaffa, how the Jaffa caught Cepheus' fleet off-guard and bought them time to reach the surface...

Everything except Aziru.

Vala was torn. If she told Landry the truth, he'd surely put Aziru on the SGC blacklist. Treason wasn't something any military organization took lightly, even from their allies. But if she lied, what did that say about her? Not that she'd have a difficult time lying- _that_ she did on a regular basis. But after nearly three years of being a part of them, of everything they'd gone through, of the sacrifices she was willing to make for them, how could she _not_ trust them?

"Vala? VALA!" Landry raised his voice to a shout, throwing off Vala's concentration on her thoughts. Times like this, he still wondered if she was right for the job. "You were about to tell me what happened to Ba'al's host."

"I-is that all he was to you?" Vala's voice shook. She knew she'd be risking her good standing with the Tau'ri after this, no matter what she chose to say. But Aziru's words clung to her heart. "Just... another host? Another Goa'uld?"

"If I had, I wouldn't have given him over to the Tok'ra." Landry narrowed his eyes. He thought he'd figured her out, but clearly, he was wrong. Perhaps in more ways than one. "Now-"

"He is gone." Teal'c appeared in the doorway, weak but still standing. He shared a look with Vala, whose gaze silently pleaded with him. She hoped he wouldn't say what happened. Not all of it. Moving slowly and carefully, Teal'c carried himself to a seat near Landry and sat down. He didn't even look either of them in the eye as he considered his options.

Landry, for once, waited patiently for him to continue.

"He disappeared into the forest. It is reasonable to assume he has been captured or killed by the Nibirans or their allies." Cepheus' soldiers. Half-truth, half-lie. Somehow, Vala didn't expect a man like Teal'c to be capable of such brilliant wordplay. Regardless, she shot Teal'c a look as if to say 'thank you'. He didn't return the look. "We must assume Cepheus is planning an attack on both Earth and Chulak. It would be wise to make preparations immediately."

"I've already contacted Daedalus and our new commander aboard the Odyssey. They'll be in orbit in a few days." Two ships. Two against dozens. Sure, the Tau'ri inherited Asgard technology, but unlike the Ori, Cepheus must've planned for that. Vala mentioned him using a repurposed Ancient warship, after all. "Trouble is, we can't get any more ships in the air. The whole country's in a recession, and our allies aren't any better off."

"Wait, what are you saying?" Vala tilted her head. She still didn't fully understand Earth's economy. "That your governments are running out of money?"

"The IOA's been saying our war with the Ori cost hundreds of billions of dollars to fund." Landry frowned and looked away. "Not that I would put a dollar to a man's life, but that money doesn't spawn out of thin air. We've run this well dry."

"Our battle with Cepheus severely weakened our fleet." Teal'c wasn't too happy with what he was about to say next. "I fear we cannot spare the ships to defend your planet."

"What about the Tok'ra?"

"Unscheduled offworld activation!"

As soon as Landry asked, the stargate activated. Startled to action, Landry followed Teal'c and Vala to the control room, where one of the monitors showed the concerned face of Bra'tac- surrounded on all sides by Tok'ra. Last Teal'c recalled, Bra'tac had returned to Chulak with the others. So what were the Tok'ra doing there?

"Teal'c." Bra'tac exclaimed with some trepidation after hearing his pupil's voice. "A situation has developed. The Tok'ra have blockaded Chulak. They're demanding the release of Ba'al's host." Hearing that again, this time from the Jaffa, made Vala flinch inside. Aziru was right after all. "They say that if neither we nor the Tau'ri return him, they will abrogate the alliance and withdraw their support."

"Which neither of us can afford," Landry noted with a hint of displeasure. Both the Jaffa and the Tau'ri were at a clear disadvantage. They needed the Tok'ra more than the other way around. "Tell their leader we-"

"General Landry." Teal'c interrupted him, much to his chagrin. "Allow me to return to Chulak and speak to them personally."

Landry had no reason to disapprove, but Teal'c's request still sounded a bit strange. "Should I send a security detail to accompany you?"

"That will not be necessary." Teal'c thanked him for the offer though. "Tell them I will be there shortly with a message regarding Aziru's disappearance."

Bra'tac nodded sagely before disconnecting the link and shutting down the wormhole.

As Teal'c got ready to disembark, Vala stopped Landry at the stairs. "Where's Daniel?"

"He took off about an hour ago with our new 'friend'." Landry used that word loosely, continuing up the stairs while Vala followed. "Said it had something to do with that other Atlantis."

Vala broke out into a grin. "Well, wouldn't you know it, buuut-" Reaching under her BDU vest, she produced the book that started it all. The Shepherd's Journal. "Looks like he's gonna owe me something. And it better be something big, for all the trouble we went through getting it." Again, she avoided mentioning Aziru's betrayal... or her subsequent guilt.

But Landry looked nonplussed. It had been a long day. At this point, he just wanted to go home, curl up with a good book and go to sleep. Maybe go bird watching before the sun set. "Last I heard, the Odyssey beamed them to a secure location in southern Iraq. Sounds like they're investigating some ruins Akharin found."

"Ruins?" Vala sounded positively digusted at the very notion. Who would want to investigate some musty old ruins anyway? The prospect of visiting him out there in the desert didn't appeal to her. She abstentmindedly thumped the book against her hand while thinking of what else she could do. Then, an idea struck her. "Okay, how about this?"

While they walked to Landry's office, Vala flipped open the book and started perusing the pages. Cepheus kindly translated the odd script into Goa'uld. Having long used that language, as did much of the known galaxy, Vala could read it fluently.

"This thing says Atlantis is below the ocean." No, duh. Okay, what else? "The author-" She avoided saying Aziru's name. "He followed a path underwater and found the city in a cave. It's got exact directions and everything!" Technically, an exaggeration. But Thatch had collected enough notes that even Vala felt confident she could find it. "I can photo-copy the pages, leave the book here, and reach Atlantis before Daniel!"

"And why would you want to do that?" Landry sat down at looked up at her with a small grin. He knew the answer, in a manner of speaking. He just wanted to hear it from her.

"What, you think I'm going to see what treasures I can dig up before-" Vala froze mid-speech. General Landry simply raised his brow and watched her expectantly. He got her just where he wanted. "Well," she started to defend herself. "It's not like I was planning on _damaging_ any of the priceless, historical artifacts we'd undoubtedly find."

"Tell you what," Landry started with a tired sigh. "If you find out anything that'll help us fight Cepheus, I'll let you hold on to a few of those priceless, historical artifacts."

"Really?" Vala's eyes lit up in anticipation.

"No." Landry's answer deflated her ego, for a little while at least. "But Dr. Jackson and Akharin are already on their way. So you better get going if you want to get there first."

"Fine." Vala tried to muster up the same sort of enthusiasm as before, but it wasn't as strong as it might've been. Besides, she could probably sneak a pretty bauble or two once she was there. She turned around to leave but stopped at the door and looked back. "Oh, one last thing." Just as Landry was about to start on some paperwork, he stopped and gave her his divided attention. "Would you mind if we contact Atlantis first?" Quickly, she added, "The first one." Landry watched her stumble over her words, bemused. "You know, the one in... the Pegasus galaxy. I need to borrow something."

So much for his day off.

* * *

Daniel couldn't remember the last time he went on an actual archaeological expedition into the desert. Sure, he and Akharin weren't in Egypt, but everything reminded him of it. Eridu, Mesopotamia- now known as Iraq and eastern Syria. Once a great city, possibly the earliest in recorded history, all that remained now were piles of sand and scattered remains of mudbrick walls. So little of it survived. A whisper easily forgotten amid the voice of later civilizations: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece...

Despite having seen it a million times before, it tore at Akharin's heart to see his beloved first city gone. Here, he and Anu overthrew their tyrannical father, Abzu. Here, Enki joined with Nintu, sister of Alalu and his rock amid the ever-shifting tides of war. 3000 BCE, Eridu sat at the mouth of what is now the Persian Gulf. Over the years, the sea withdrew, abandoning Akharin from the very same day he abandoned it to travel the world.

"Stand here." Indicating a place beside him, Akharin waited for Daniel to step up before closing his eyes. He concetrated as best he could, focused on one thing.

Suddenly, a series of transport rings raised out of the ground around them. Daniel felt a wave of nausea wash over him as the beam swept them up. Deep beneath the earth, deeper than even the SGC, the rings lowered from a dark ceiling and deposited their cargo on the floor of a large, open room. Lines of gold weaved along the floor, winding their way up the pillars and walls. A subtle, golden light followed each line and cut through the darkness.

Reacting to their presence, the room came alive. Holographic stars appeared in the air, all formed around their galaxy, the Milky Way. Though unsurprised, Akharin matched Daniel's expression earlier in the ruins. They were both nostalgic for the past. Catching a glimpse of Daniel wandering through the room in wonder, Akharin remembered why he chose to take the young archaeologist under his wing so many years ago. Daniel's enthusiasm had been encouraged by Dr. Jordan... a wonderful pupil of Akharin's from another life.

"What is this place?" Daniel watched in awe as the stars grew in size until they were left with a holographic representation of the solar system.

"It is... a memory." Akharin sounded less interested in expounding on that than Daniel may have hoped. Instead, he waved the holographic images away as he passed through them, heading for a crystaline control panel at the other end of the room. Silently, he worked the console until a golden light flashed to life in the center of the room.

Where the center of the holographic image once stood, Daniel saw a small, round table surrounding what appeared to be a metal pole with a blue, pulsating orb encased in glass marked with several thick, black lines. Akharin moved to work on the new device, leaving Daniel to wonder some more-not that he could stomp out human curiosity.

"Enki, what's going on?" Daniel used his former, Goa'uld name, causing Akharin to flinch momentarily. "At least explain to me what you're doing."

"Patience is a virtue." Akharin finished what he was doing and gave Daniel a concerned look. "You'll have your answers, Dr. Jackson. In time."

At that, a bolt of electricity shot out of the orb and struck one of the pillars, followed by another. Each coalesced into a single phenomenon: a tall, rectangular doorway, displaying a giant chamber with Colonel Samantha Carter and Desmond standing at a similar console to the one Akharin just used, both staring back in surprise. Uncertain, Daniel raised his hand to wave to Carter, who reluctantly returned the gesture.

"Follow closely." Before Daniel could ask where, Akharin walked through the portal until he stood on the other side, facing Carter and her acquaintance. Tentatively, Daniel followed, being reminded of his experience with the quantum mirror. When his hand touched the portal, he heard and felt the odd blast of energy engulfing him without transporting him away. Suddenly, without any warning, something pulled him through and tossed him out the other side until he lied face-flat on the floor.

"Daniel!" Carter ran up to him and helped him up. When they looked back at the portal, it had already closed. Carter felt relieved, but also distraught by something. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine." Daniel turned to look at Akharin, expecting some kind of answer. Instead, he got a weak nod from Akharin, who went to work at the same console Carter had been working on. He blinked and tried to get a bearing on his surroundings. "Where's Mitchell?"

The answer caught in her throat. After all, if she hadn't activated the portal...

"He's gone." Daniel asked what she meant by 'gone'. "I mean he got caught in one of those portals and ended up in that ship." When she pointed to the strange vessel hovering overhead, Daniel stared up at it as though he'd missed it in his first examination of the place. "I can't find a way inside. And once the portal deactivated, I couldn't get it back."

"Nor should you." Akharin finished checking the most obvious data first before answering Carter in person. "That portal was not meant to be used in such a manner."

Samantha glanced with confusion between Akharin and Daniel.

"Sam... this is Akharin," Daniel explained as he caught his breath and stood up straight. "He, uh... he's the last of the people who used the Ancients as hosts."

Carter narrowed her eyes as she hesitantly stared at Akharin. "I don't sense a symbiote."

"I abandoned it long ago." Another long story made short, Akharin summarized by repeating something familiar. Eerily familiar. Daniel corroborated his story, albeit uncomfortably.

"Wait... so you're responsible?" At first, Akharin thought she meant for the temple they now stood in, but then she continued for Daniel's benefit. "Mitchell and I spoke to Malcolm about finding this place. Malcolm found out about some sort of project headed by an organization called the Hanso Foundation-" Now she looked accusingly at Akharin. "They were using the neural patterns of a Goa'uld symbiote to possess new hosts."

Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then again, he'd heard a lot over these past twelve hours. More than he'd ever thought possible, to be honest.

"Alvar Hanso learned of my research, yes." Akharin's ability to shed the symbiote and live as part of the host's mind ended up in the hands of a former pupil. At least Daniel could see why he'd been so hesitant to trust him. "But he isn't the one you should be looking for."

Hanso disappeared years ago under mysterious circumstances. Those people after Malcolm and the people in charge of the Foundation now were likely connected.

"You." It was Desmond who spoke next, stepping past Daniel and Carter until he could see Akharin more clearly. "You know what this island is, don't you?"

"... yes." Another answer Akharin didn't want to provide. How many more would learn what he knew and abuse it before he realized he needed to keep it all to himself? "You could call it a small part of Atlantis. One island among many."

Over two thousand years before Enki reincarnated on Earth in the Euphrates, the System Lords tried to locate and exterminate a race of humans living in the middle of the Atlantic. Few believed they existed, since Atlantis hid in a transphasic state. "Just like this island." Akharin continued, explaining how the three System Lords aware of its existence sent a ship laced with a naquadah bomb toward the city-after determining the time and place the city would appear next. The Atlanteans set it off, burying the city in a great tidal wave.

"That is the last I heard of the city." Akharin tried to keep his story light to keep his audience unaware of certain facts. It was for their own good... or so he convinced himself. "I learned of its existence and went to search for it. One day, while sailing across a distant ocean with a fleet of galleys, we were caught in a storm. We washed up on these shores."

Akharin explored the island. He sensed something familiar about it. That's when he found the ship half-buried in the jungle on the second island, deep within a cave. "Let's just say Apsu never found Earth by luck." Looking up overhead at it, Akharin reminisced, "We uncovered it on Una long ago. Whatever creatures possessed it were engaged in a great experiment with your people... you _and_ the Ancients."

Again, either Akharin didn't have all the details or he chose not to share. But at least he told Sam what she needed to know. "We call the light which powers it 'Adar'." A fanciful name for a fallen star, later interpreted by the Sumerians as the month of March and, theoretically, early Semitic-speaking peoples as meaning 'strength'. Akharin spoke of it reverently, as if he worshiped it as dearly as the people who built this temple. "It is... more than we could ever understand."

As if realizing that wouldn't fully satisfy the humans beside him, Akharin eventually averted his eyes from the sight and peered back at Sam in particular. "To you, it is merely a power source. To the peoples of Atlantis, it is their protector... their god." His eyes wandered over the entirety of the cavern. "Just as it once was to those who found this place."

Fascinating as Akharin's explanation could be, Carter had just about heard enough. "Okay, look." She was growing frustrated. "Colonel Mitchell walked through one of your portals to get a closer look at that light. You know these systems better than any of us. So how do we get to him?"

"Wait." Daniel took one tentative step forward, eyes fixated on the obelisks. Something about the way they were carved, particularly in the diamond-shaped impressions, looked familiar. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those impressions similar to the ones we found on the gateway on P5X-777?" The planet where Jack and Maybourne passed through a portal.

A strange sense of deja vu passed over Carter, along with that same sense of dread she felt the day Jack went missing. Even though they eventually recovered him, she remembered feeling so... helpless. Unable to save the life of someone who really mattered to her.

"They were built by a species we knew as the I'konia," Akharin explained without even touching the control console. "They taught many races how to build the por-"

"You've got to be joking." This time, it was Desmond who blurted out, interrupting the immortal's plodding speech. He smiled in disbelief, staring at Akharin like someone who made a bad pun. "You're sayin' all this-the light, the island, everything-is the result of- of aliens?" He vigorously shook his head. "No, none of that explains what I saw. What I experienced. When I went into that light, when Charles nearly KILLED me with that damned machine of his... very briefly, I was in another world. As close to heaven on Earth as can be.

"How can that be anythin' but supernatural?"

Daniel blinked and looked back at Desmond with a lopsided frown. Then he glanced at Carter. "Mitchell didn't clue him in, did he?" But he could tell Carter was too busy thinking of a way to reach Mitchell to answer him properly, so he assumed that was a 'no'. "See, there's this race called the Ancients. They ascended to a-"

"Higher plane of existence, I know." Desmond recalled everything Sam and Mitchell told him about that. "Your Colonel Mitchell told me enough. From what I understand, those Ancients created the light I saw." He turned to Akharin. "Was he right?"

"Yes," Akharin bitterly answered. Again, he hated being in this position, answering questions he'd rather leave a mystery to the insatiable curiosity and greed of the human spirit.

Finally, Desmond asked the question which had been burning in his heart since the day he returned from the island:

"Why?"

To that, Akharin grimaced and looked away. "I don't know."

"You're lying!" Desmond shouted in a sudden outburst of anger. "You know what this island is! You know what that light is! You put that monster on this island!"

The Black Smoke. For once, Akharin was at a loss for words. How could he answer without throwing fuel on the fire? He'd already done some awful things toward humanity. It was only in the last two-thousand years that he tried to make amends. Tried.

"Is that true?"

Another voice joined Desmond's. It belonged to the man called Benjamin Linus, who wandered in while Hugo remained at the entrance, too afraid to cross the long path over the bottomless Valley of Death below. Both arrived just in time for Akharin's arrival, or possibly in response to it. If the light surely recognized him, they would too- if only subconsciously. But Akharin knew them both the moment they became immortal.

Because this is where he became immortal too.

"You're the one who created that-that thing which haunted our island since the day I arrived?" Ben also looked angry, but in his eyes, Akharin saw confusion. "Why?"

"Security." After centuries of it terrorizing the island, the Black Smoke finally stood to be explained. Even if no one truly wanted the answer. Akharin continued: "I knew this island, my temple, would be discovered one day. Your kind are... stubborn. Persistent. Short of killing your entire species, I knew I couldn't protect this secret forever.

"My studies into ascension led me to use one of my people's devices to capture an ascendant. One you know as Isfet." Akharin glimpsed at Daniel, who recognized the name immediately. Isfet meant 'discord' or 'chaos' to the ancient Egyptians. It was often conflated with Set, whom SG-1 knew as Setesh or Seth. But it couldn't be the same Goa'uld. "Isfet lived long before Ra and Anubis. The people who built the temple above mistook him for Apophis and tried to fight back as all you humans do. With weapons, with swords...

"Nothing they did could stop him. I gave him the ability to copy their memories, emotions and personalities. He could be anyone they knew." Akharin frowned, still unable to look any of them in the eye. He felt guilt for what he'd done. But it was too late for guilt. "He used their own fear and mistrust to turn them against one another. He embodied the darkest aspects of their psyche." Slowly, he shook his head.

"They never stopped to realize their true enemy lived inside them."

Though entranced by his explanation, neither Ben nor Desmond felt it explained everything. "Why?" Desmond pleaded for an answer. "Why did you do this?"

"Because you realized we couldn't be trusted with power." Daniel recalled everything Akharin had told him up to this point. The former Isu's trust in humanity caused Colonel Jensen, the Trust- any of the groups pulling society's strings. "You wanted to find someone you could trust. Someone who could break free of their past. Learn from their mistakes."

"Then why did it want to leave the island?" Ben questioned.

"He. Why did he want to leave the island," Akharin reluctantly corrected Ben's error. "Once you've lived over a century, you'll know first-hand." Considering without the Black Smoke, the only 'security system' left was Ben and Hurley. They'd have to take its place. "I never envied his job. Your job. To stay here and experience the worst in humanity's hearts. Hopes and dreams can only carry you so far. Eventually, you'll want out. I did."

The Black Smoke wasn't created from the heart of one man. It was forged by the fear and greed of hundreds or thousands of people. Then it met that one person who wanted to leave as much as he did. Isfet found him. And soon after, he opened a pocket in the Earth where he'd find an echo of the light. "The rest, as you say," Akharin began. "Is history."

None of that mattered right now. Not to Carter. She needed to find a way to reactivate the portal. To save Mitchell's life. Just as she'd done for Jack so long ago.

"What about Cameron? What about the portal?" Carter shook her head. "You've told us everything except what matters the most." She pointed at the ship. "How do we get in there? _How_ are we going to _get to_ him?!"

Anything Desmond said wouldn't calm her down, no matter how much faith he had that Mitchell would be alright. Daniel, for once, didn't know enough to say one way or another. And Akharin, afraid he'd already said too much, kept silent in spite of her piercing glare.

Help would come from an unexpected source.

"I think I know how to get your friend back." Benjamin Linus stared back at her.


	9. Later Episodes (Synopses)

**Author's Notes** : Due to some personal issues and the pace of life, I'm not entirely sure when I might get the chance to write again. I've been sitting on a few synopses of future chapters for months and thought that anyone who likes what I wrote so far deserves some sort of continuation. So, inspired by the style of s09119's Continuing Stargate (available both on this site and Gateworld), here's the shortened form of several future episodes I hope you'll like~!

I really want to continue writing, so this will remain as the last chapter even when I add new ones. This site's system for moving chapters around is awkward (I have to post a new chapter with the summary before changing the previous chapter and its title into the latest update), but I think I can do it. Should I only have a few hours to myself one day, and I get an idea, I may jot it down here. But if I get more time, I'll write out every episode like I was doing!

* * *

 **Currently on:**

 **Episodes 11x01 & 02 - "Elysium's Void"**

Introduction:  
After recalling a trial he witnessed while ascended, Daniel investigates the existence of a new threat: the Abyss and its allies, the "sons of Apsu"-the Anunnaki. Purportedly, they came and went between Earth and a planet called Nibiru through a stargate in Iraq. An archaeologist named Thaddeus Thatch discovered evidence of it in 1911 and also found out about the Shepherd's Journal there. According to his notes, the Journal described an experiment of the Ancients after they ascended:

A second Atlantis... this time on Earth.

Following a trail of clues, SG-1 finds out Ba'al had been searching for the city while leading the Trust. His host, Aziru, is being kept on the Reoul homeworld, where the Tok'ra are rehabilitating him. To gain access to Ba'al's memories, the Tok'ra allow Teal'c to speak to him. They view a memory of Ba'al interrogating a man named Charles Widmore, manipulating Charles' daughter into torturing him for information. Ba'al took the Shepherd's Journal to P2X-887.

While Daniel and Teal'c investigate, Sam and Mitchell try to find Widmore. The latter meet Desmond Hume and learn of the Island. After finding it, with Desmond's help, they uncover the secret of the light Desmond saw and how it - as well as the island - are tied to Atlantis. Meanwhile, the former meet Cepheus, Ba'al's former lo'taur (season 5, "The Summit") and learn that he's leading a group of formerly favored servants of the Goa'uld.

Teal'c & Vala:  
The Jaffa learn of a new enemy attacking their outer colonies, eating symbiotes from those who had yet to turn to tretonin. Rya'c is being held captive by them. Teal'c learns that Salgor, one of those on the Council, is actually a human spy using a Goa'uld bodice to temporarily give himself a symbiote pouch, planted by Cepheus in the hopes of luring the Jaffa to the planet Rya'c is on. Teal'c joins Vala, who is searching for Aziru (whom Salgor kidnapped), and goes to rescue Rya'c. In the process, he's captured and put under the spell of an Apple of Eden by an Anunnaki. He kills several of his brothers, thinking they were the enemy-mutated Unas called Drengin. In orbit, Cepheus nearly destroys the Jaffa fleet, but Aziru surrenders himself to end the bloodshed, in spite of Vala's protests.

Later, the Tok'ra blockade Chulak and demand the release of Aziru. Teal'c explains what happened, but the Tok'ra remain stubborn. Instead, Teal'c offers the one who kidnapped Aziru in the first place: Salgor. When Teal'c goes to speak with him one last time, Salgor escapes with the help of an invisible enemy: an ashrak unlike any Teal'c had fought before. Teal'c is gravely injured and brought back to the SGC in critical condition.

Vala receives the Shepherd's Journal in return for Aziru and uses it to travel to Earth's Atlantis via a puddle jumper borrowed from the Pegasus Atlantis. She encounters both a Leviathan and a flaming serpent composed of many flying, firey bugs. Unwilling to let Vala go the whole way alone, Woolsey assigns Major Evan Lorne and two of his soldiers to accompany her. McKay almost went with them, but hearing how it was underwater, he chose to remain in Atlantis (referencing events in Atlantis 2x14 "Grace Under Pressure").

Sam & Mitchell:  
After landing on the Island, Sam, Mitchell and Desmond meet Benjamin Linus and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, who show them to the Temple. They find the source of the light Desmond mentioned: the power core of an enormous alien ship hovering over a bottomless pit. Sam accidentally opens an Iconian gateway to the interior of the ship, where a constant stream of water is hitting a spherical shield keeping the light contained. At Desmond's urging, Mitchell steps through and disappears. Ben helps Sam try to get him back by taking her and Desmond to the well, where he turns the wheel. It dislodges the Island from space-time until Desmond stops him. That gave Daniel, who had arrived earlier, time to step through the portal too.

Meanwhile, Mitchell awoke in Atlantis. He found nearly everybody dead except two: Kida Nedakh and Milo Thatch. Drengin were terrorizing the city. They were formerly under the control of one of Ba'al's lo'taurs wielding a Staff of Eden, but when Kida and Milo overthrew him, the Drengin went feral. Working together, they recover the Staff and are rescued when the Heart of Atlantis possesses Kida to deliver a message*. Their real enemy is the universe itself-and, at its heart, the Spirit of the Abyss. As the Heart dies, the city begins to collapse as the volcano awakens. Fortunately, Vala arrives in a puddle jumper just in time and they escape through a portal opening in the ceiling, leading them back to the Island.

Daniel & Akharin:  
Daniel learns that his former mentor, Meroe, is an immortal known as Akharin-formerly the Goa'uld Enki in an Ancient host named Jupiter. After an incident in which the commander of the Odyssey tries to use Akharin's Apple of Eden, almost destroying the ship in the process, Daniel learns that there are secret groups looking for Akharin's technology: the artifacts left behind by the Isu, Goa'uld-possessed Ancients. Akharin is reluctant to help at first, believing that no human can be trusted, but Daniel convinces him otherwise.

Akharin leads Daniel to his temple in Eridu, and from there to his lab beneath the Temple on the Island, where he'd left a security system the 'natives' called the 'Smoke Monster'. He helps Daniel travel through an Iconian gateway to Atlantis. Mitchell rescues Daniel from a Drengin attack, and together with Milo and Kida, they find out more about the Abyss (see Sam & Mitchell above).

Epilogue:  
Desmond, Kida and Milo return to the SGC for various reasons. Hurley convinces Desmond to find the Ancients who created the light and bring them home. Kida saw her entire people ascend, including her father, while possessed by the Heart and agrees to help save the universe from the Spirit of the Abyss. Milo wants to preserve the memory of the Atlanteans and be there for Kida, though he worries about returning to a world that rejected him.

Meanwhile, Akharin disappears, leaving behind a video message warning that Apsu had the unique ability to shapeshift into people from their memories. Even worse, he'd once reincarnated as a powerful System Lord SG-1 soon recognized: Anubis. If he ever regained his memories and returned like Daniel, he would likely appear to be someone SG-1 knows... someone who died long ago. He'll control a powerful Apple of Eden, using it to revive an army and a powerful armada. Then he'll come after the stargate.

But SG-1 returns home to even graver news: Teal'c is dying... and it looks like he won't survive.

* Brief synopsis/script for the scene:  
[Kida finds herself engulfed in a bright light. Milo suddenly feels his heart sink and tries to step forward, but an energy field in the light keeps him away. This time, however, Kida doesn't ascend toward the light. Instead, she closes her eyes... and when she opens them, they're covered in the same glowing, blue energy as the Heart. The spotlight never leaves her.]

Kida: *in a booming voice* Speak.

Daniel: My name is Daniel Jackson.

Kida: *says nothing*

Daniel: Right, okay... where to begin? Well, I guess it all started-

Kida: We are aware of what you told this body.

Daniel: ... okay. Then you must also know why we had to find you.

Kida: *says nothing*

Daniel: Maura mentioned something about an Abyss. Whatever it is, the Ancients seemed to fear it.

Kida: They fear what they do not understand.

Daniel: Yeah... and seeing as they won't share any information with us, we were wondering if you could... *seeing the irony in this statement* shed some light on this?

Kida: *says nothing... at first* It is chaos.

Mitchell: We're gonna need more than that.

Daniel: See, we believe it may become a threat in the near future. Whoever Maura's people are, they wanted to protect the galaxy from it by allying with a species called the Anunnaki.

Kida: They abandoned the path.

Mitchell: *looks suspiciously between Kida and Daniel; it reminds him of the Ori*

Daniel: Path... what path?

Kida: *says nothing*

Daniel: Alright, look, you were created by the Ancients, right? Or, more specifically, an Ancient named Jupiter?

Kida: ... we are.

Daniel: Why?

Kida: ... to correct a mistake.

Daniel: That's what Enki said. He said he regrets creating us.

Mitchell: *irked* ... you mean 'genetically uplifting' us, right?

Kida: Our creator sought ascension. Enki encouraged his children and yours to form a new kind. When he became seperate, our creator led their kind to this land.

Milo: So, what you're telling us is...?

Daniel: Your people... are the closest descendants of the Ancients.

Kida: *says nothing*

Mitchell: What about all those people we found with the Ancient gene?

Daniel: Just because they have the gene to activate their technology doesn't mean they're close descendants. A person with blonde hair isn't necessarily Scandinavian by blood.

Milo: Why? *everybody looks at him* Why did he do this?

Kida: You are to ascend. To lend your strength in our fight with the Abyss.

Daniel: *realizes what that means* What /is/ the Abyss?

Mitchell: And try not to be too cryptic this time.

Kida: *transforms into the Spirit of the Abyss* *emits a loud, bloodcurdling screech*

Jupiter (voice): Born with the universe. Shattered by time. We have fought from the day we ascended. Even our brethren in the Ori sought to destroy this... abomination.

*around the Spirit appears a plethora of stars*

Jupiter (voice): What you see is the Spirit of the Abyss. The Abyss. The universe which came before. Formless. A void. Once granted consciousness at the beginning of all we know, the Spirit knew fear. Fear of existence. Fear of its own awareness. But most importantly...

*the stars grow dim as he speaks until there are only galaxies left*

Jupiter (voice): It hungers. In its nature, it devours everything it fears: worlds, stars-anything born of this universe. Even now, it grows. A civilization of ascendants strove to combat Elysium's Void, but in the end, it possessed the Totality of existence.

*zoom in to one of the galaxies, fade out Spirit*

Jupiter (voice): They shielded the galaxies, formed the barriers between them and the Totality. But they know it is only a matter of time. Galaxies fade into the Abyss with each passing moment. Ours may also fall prey to it. Whether billions of years from now or tomorrow... or even sooner. We live on borrowed time.

*the Route of Ages appears*

Jupiter (voice): Our hope lies in ascension- in forming an army among the heavens. Then, we can storm the creature at its gate and end this threat once and for all.

*Kida reappears while the rest fades away*

Kida: We die, our purpose fulfilled. In our place, a gateway will be opened. This body does not wish you to come to harm. It is not your time. You must follow... another path.

*Kida closes her eyes*

Kida: It is done.

*Kida is released from the Heart's control, collapsing from the strain. Milo rushes over to her*

Mitchell: ... no pressure, huh?

*cue the Heart erupting and engulfing the city in one last gasp for life. Everything begins collapsing as the volcano reawakens and a portal opens on the ceiling, where the Heart had been, leading back to the Island*

* * *

 **Upcoming Episodes:**

 **Episode 11x03 - "Convictions"**

Dr. Lam determines that Teal'c was poisoned, and she has no cure. Whatever it is, it interferes with the effects of tretonin. To save Teal'c's life, they would have to procure a young Goa'uld symbiote. Teal'c, barely conscious, rejects the notion. He would rather die free than be dependent on another parasite. Mitchell understands his convictions but refuses to just let him die. With most symbiotes dead or missing since the Jaffa rebellion, however, finding one would take too long; and the Tok'ra are AWOL. But Daniel knows where to go.

Desmond returns to London to confront his wife, Penelope. He explains his experiences on the Island and how he can find out more if he returns to Cheyenne Mountain. Penelope begs him not to go, warning him that her father was also obsessed with finding answers... and how his obsession turned him into a monster. Desmond assures her it won't be the same and promises he'll return soon. They part on a bittersweet note.

Back at SGC, Milo has caught up on Daniel's reports about ascension and their recent mission, all the while failing to realize how much guilt is eating at his wife. Kida reassures him that she'll be fine, though she continues to feel the effect. Together, they check on Sam, whose research on the light has turned up an "incredible" result. She just got done speaking with Rodney McKay on the other Atlantis. They would soon be visiting the city to confirm it.

SG-1:  
On P3X-888, SG-1 (Mitchell, Daniel and Vala) discover that the research team observing the Unas had disappeared. They're ambushed by a group of Unas near the gate, though their leader, Chaka, stops them from attacking. Chaka leads them to the lake where he once saved Daniel's life. Cepheus and his troupe are catching symbiotes and holding the research team captive. Aziru is with them. Vala starts toward Cepheus's camp despite Daniel's warning that he may no longer be Aziru. She refuses to stand by and do nothing this time. Daniel has Chaka stay behind in case anything should happen to them.

Ultimately, SG-1 is caught infiltrating the camp. Aziru reveals himself to be Ba'al again. Cepheus used research he had gained during his time on Earth to imprint specific neural patterns to the new symbiotes they were capturing. It granted the Goa'uld a new immortality. Their only problem is the native Unas, who've been harassing and killing Cepheus's warriors. Vala is taken to be interrogated regarding their whereabouts. During her interrogation, she tries to get through to Aziru but fails. That's when Ba'al brings out a symbiote and carries it toward Vala. He intends to be with his queen, Qetesh, again.

The Unas interrupt the implantation long enough for Chaka to catch Ba'al in the act. He attacks, but Ba'al nearly activates his personal shield. Vala kicks and throws him off-balance long enough for Chaka to strike Ba'al down, but she stops him before he can make the killing blow. After Chaka frees her, she disarms Ba'al and promptly turns on Chaka, using the kara kesh to kill him. Meanwhile, Mitchell and Daniel escape with the aid of the other Unas. Daniel finds Chaka dying and Vala nowhere to be found.

Mitchell finds Vala holding the Unas off as Cepheus's warriors escape. She uses her kara kesh on him just as Daniel leaves the tent. Daniel sees Vala's eyes glow before an Asgard transport beam picks her up and an al'kesh in the distance takes off toward the skies.

Atlantis:  
Desmond arrives back at SGC in time to join Sam, Kida and Milo as they travel to Atlantis through the stargate (after a brief stop at Midway Station off-camera). Woolsey greets them but says it's a bad time. Ladon Radim, leader of the Genii, arrived recently with news. The Wraith culled much of the Genii's new homeworld and stolen their research on a secret project. Though Ladon is unwilling to go into details, he mentions the team at Atlantis knows of a similar project, since the Genii started research into it based on McKay's discoveries.

Project Arcturus - a failed attempt by the Ancients to harness an infinite power source, otherwise called the omega molecule.

Sheppard and McKay argue over the results of their last mission to do the same thing. Regardless, they need to stop the Wraith before a real disaster happens. While Kida, Milo and Desmond remain on Atlantis, Sam plans to go with Sheppard's team when they follow Ladon to the new Genii homeworld. Among the ruins, they find a dead Wraith clutching an old, tattered book. On its first page, they discover something unexpected... a moving image, flickering with static, depicting the distorted ruins of a castle. Before Sam can touch it, the team is surrounded and captured by the Wraith.

Back on Atlantis, Milo and Kida happen to meet Teyla Emmagen, who shows interest in where they come from. Hearing of the other Atlantis and what they found on ascension, she's reminded of a legend passed down among her people. "It is said the Ancestors fight a great war in the heavens, and they intend to have us join them after death." Learning more about the Ancients, Milo believes he understands why they rejected Jupiter and his creation, the Heart of Atlantis. They were terrified of power. But Kida is firm in her belief that the Ancients were wrong, and they should have helped her people when they had the chance. Teyla helps her realize that even if Kida's people are gone, they live on in her.

Aboard a Wraith ship, Sam, Sheppard, Ronin, McKay and Ladon are being interrogated by a Wraith that Sheppard's started calling Dave. Dave wants to know how to repair the book. An alarm interrupts them as the ship comes under attack. When a Vanir enters and kills the two guards, Sheppard gets the upper hand with Dave. The Vanir demands the book, but Sheppard threatens to destroy it unless he helps them break out. It agrees. After rescuing his team, Sheppard realizes what the Vanir is really after: Project Arcturus, or the Genii equivalent. Sam convinces it that they should work together, since they already have more than enough information to finish the project. Again, the Vanir cautiously agrees and, at Sheppard's questioning, reveals its name to be Odin.

Back on Atlantis, with Odin's help, McKay thinks they have a chance at completing what the Ancients started. Odin explains how the Ancients' research is tied to his peoples' evolutionary predecessors, the current residents of Arcturus in the Milky Way. The book is a link to a world where the ancient Genii tried to create an omega molecule and failed. Ladon warns them never to touch the image on the book, otherwise they'll be transported and trapped in that world. They had a book that let them return, but the Wraith took it.

Just as McKay and Carter are about to create a stable omega molecule, Odin sabotages their efforts and dies in the process. With everyone else incapacitated by the explosion of energy it caused, Desmond, Milo & Kida - unaffected by the energy due to their experiences with the Heart - disable it and save the day. It's later discovered that the omega's destabilization ascended Odin-the first and only Asgard ever to ascend. Although Carter defends McKay's position that the project is still viable and their best chance at finding ways to fight Isu/Anunnaki technology, McKay agrees to go slow on the research next time.

Epilogue:  
Milo and Kida decide to remain on Atlantis - Kida in particular. With renewed hope that her people are not truly dead, she hopes to one day rebuild her civilization. Milo can help McKay understand and stabilize the omega molecule through his knowledge of the Heart, and Kida believes it is the closest thing to her people she has left.

Teal'c awakens to find Mitchell and the rest of SG-1 standing at his bedside. At first, he's happy to see them but soon feels the squirming of a symbiote in his gut. Disturbed, he finds it hard to forgive his friends and even says they should have let him die. As they leave the infirmary, Daniel asks if they did the right thing. Mitchell says they did. "He'll come around... I hope."

Daniel visits Ba'al, who's now locked behind bars. He demands to know where Cepheus took Vala. Ba'al feigns ignorance and tells Daniel that if he wants to learn more, he'll have to step in and force the information out of him. Tempted to do so, Daniel nonetheless stops himself. He knew how much helping Aziru meant to Vala. "She wouldn't want me to." With that, Daniel leaves Ba'al to sit and wait, a smug look on his face as the door closes.

 **Author's Notes/Retrospective** : Two episodes for the price of one? Or too much crammed together? I admit, it's mostly an excuse to write some Atlantis while I write SG-1. Tying them together in this series seemed the best option. Either way, both parts of this episode are intentional- and fairly important to the overall story arc!

* * *

 **Episode 11x04 - "Change of Heart"**

SG-1:  
(Side note: By now, Desmond is undergoing orientation and training at the recommendation of Colonel Carter. This is mentioned in the dialogue as an aside.)

Trying to put SG-1's recent loss of Vala out of his mind, Daniel thinks back on his latest revelation. The Ancients chose one of Maura's kind to speak in their name. As he wonders about that, there's an unauthorized offworld activation. SGC receives a radio transmission from Thilana, leader of the people on P9C-882. She asks SG-1 to visit the planet. "There's someone here I think you should meet."

On the other side, they meet Thilana, who tells them not to react too harshly. Confused, SG-1 cautiously follows her into the building where she and some of the villagers had been held hostage by the Ori's warriors some years ago. A crowd has gathered but disperses as Thilana leads them in. Sitting at a table in the middle of the room... is Adria.

Despite first impressions, Adria explains how she regrets what she did as the Orici. After her defeat and subsequent battle with Morgan Le Fay, she witnessed what the Ark of Truth showed to the Priors. It made her realize how the Ori were using her, how they twisted her mind. Morgan brought her to the others to face judgment and defended her, claiming that despite Adria's accelerated physical growth, she was still with the mind of a child - easily influenced by her creators. The Ancient Council reached a decision. As punishment, Adria would be returned to mortal form without her powers. Morgan secretly helped her keep her memories so she could deliver a message without the others finding out.

Celestial avatars. They were beings who were born ascended when the universe was created. Maura was one of them. Adria knows what they are and how they can help. To contact one, they'd have to get dangerously close to the sun. Nobody at SGC nor in SG-1 know whether to trust Adria after everything she did. Thilana tries to convince SG-1 to give her a chance. She senses no deception or ill intent from the former Orici.

Finally, Daniel asks to be given a moment to speak with Adria alone. He mentions Vala's recent abduction (11x03 "Convictions"), gauging Adria's reaction. Understandably, Adria grows upset and demands to know what Daniel is going to do about it. There's very little he can do without knowing her location. Adria becomes noticeably distressed, cursing the loss of her ascended abilities which would've helped her find Vala. Daniel is convinced by her compassion and speaks in favor of bringing her back to the SGC.

Using the Odyssey to approach Sol, with Adria on board, Daniel finds himself in the midst of a white void staring at a golden-skinned humanoid. It calls itself the avatar of the sun. Realizing this is a member of the same species as Maura, Daniel asks Sol if he's the one the Ancients chose. Sol, angered at the mere mention of them, demands to know why they still live. According to a plan presented to him tens of thousands of years ago, Sol expects humanity to have built and used a device to destroy the Ancients once and for all.

Of course, that didn't happen. Instead, the Sangraal destroyed the Ori. Sol grows furious and actively prepares to attack Daniel. Then a similarly golden-skinned woman steps between them and absorbs a blast of plasma, throwing it back at him. With Sol out of the way, she turns and addresses Daniel, introducing herself as Trance Gemini. She knew Adria would lead her to the 'traitor'. Telling Daniel to go back to where it all began if he cares about "truly redeeming" Adria, she sends him back to the ship without an explanation.

As Daniel becomes aware of his surroundings again, a solar flare shoots out of the sun toward the Odyssey. It strikes the shields. After several minutes, Sol gains the upper hand, causing the ship's hull to crack. With no other choice, Mitchell calls for an evacuation.

To save the crew, Adria backs away and tries to focus her mind. Her body begins to burn like it did when she gained the Ori's powers. Though Daniel doesn't want to let her do this, Adria insists they go. She'll try and ascend so she can strengthen the shields long enough for them to escape. Just as Daniel's escape pod makes it out, the ship explodes, Adria's fate unknown.

Teal'c:  
Finding it difficult to accept having a symbiote again, Teal'c leaves for Chulak without any plans to return. Once there, he finds out that the Council is up in arms over the incidents with Cepheus and the Tok'ra. Nobody is sure what to do. Bra'tac warns that a particularly fanatical faction has grown in popularity. They hope to reverse the genetic engineering that created the Jaffa in the first place using modified Sarcophagi, with the intent of turning all Jaffa into humans. Even Teal'c finds the concept appealing, given his latest experience. Bra'tac, however, reminds him of the dangers involved and that it would be too much to ask.

A young Council member, Nisal, who narrowly survived the explosion set off by the Illac Renin over a year before, overhears them. Later, he approaches Teal'c with an offer. He is one of the Cha'hai, the Fearless - those who Bra'tac warned about. Nisal reveals that he underwent the procedure successfully, even showing Teal'c his lack of a symbiote pouch. Though some didn't survive the procedure, Nisal claims they all went in knowing the risks. All he asks is that Teal'c suggest the Council allow their people the choice.

Later that day, Teal'c presents Nisal's proposal to the Council. Everyone rejects it, even finding it deplorable that Teal'c would suggest such a thing. They believe the Cha'hai helped Cepheus and his allies invade the Jaffa colonies. Bra'tac claims Cepheus and the Anunnaki have located even the most recent settlements. But Salgor wasn't present when the last colonies to be attacked were established. Therefore, they must still have a traitor (or traitors) in their midst supplying information. Teal'c defends the Cha'hai against such unfounded accusations, claiming Bra'tac and the Council were looking for scapegoats.

Again, Teal'c disappeared to meet Nisal in a hidden place he was instructed to find. Nisal and the rest of the Cha'hai feared the Council wouldn't listen to reason. They planned to take the palace by force if their demands weren't met. Teal'c refuses to participate, but Nisal pushes, claiming the Council is too divided and unable to make a decision on the Anunnaki issue. If the Free Jaffa Nation is to survive, they need to stand united. No gods, no kings... the Cha'hai would retain a Council but give the common man a say in its resolutions.

With Teal'c's reluctant help, the Cha'hai infiltrate the palace and take the Council hostage. Nisal demands the Council institute a fully democratic government immediately. Bra'tac chastises Teal'c for his compliance with such dishonorable tactics. Teal'c answers that he believes the Cha'hai will help the Jaffa. As promised, Nisal's demands involve giving the people more power and influence. There's only one catch:

The Cha'hai made an arrangement with Cepheus (through Salgor) to prevent an attack on Chulak. No Jaffa could ever leave Chulak, and the fleet would be disassembled. Teal'c takes issue with this and is struck down with the rest of the Council, Bra'tac included. When he awakens in a prison cell, he apologizes to Bra'tac, who forgives him... partially. A guard steps into view and claims his work for the Anunnaki paid off. Teal'c looks up... and sees Rya'c standing beside Nisal. Offered a choice to use the sarcophagus and rid himself of his symbiote pouch forever, Teal'c refuses, prompting Nisal to leave.

Seemingly brainwashed, Rya'c releases Teal'c and Bra'tac, telling them to carry a message back to the Tau'ri: "If they value their lives, they will consider letting Cepheus help them." It's the only way to avoid a major catastrophe, Rya'c warns. "A threat greater than anything he represents." Teal'c tries to convince Rya'c to come back with him, but the Jaffa guards flanking Rya'c (and standing behind Teal'c and Bra'tac) won't allow it. Rya'c orders the guards to escort them to the stargate. "I'll be here, waiting for the day you return with eyes open."

Epilogue:  
Daniel blames himself for letting Adria sacrifice herself. Mitchell tells him not to worry over it. "I know you've probably heard this before, but what's done is done." But as Daniel muses over that, he has a vision of Adria reaching out to him... and Vala reaching over to take her hand. Mitchell notices the odd look on Daniel's face and asks. "She's alive."

Teal'c and Bra'tac arrive at the SGC with news of the takeover on Chulak. Teal'c offers a heartfelt apology to Colonel Mitchell for ever doubting him. Mitchell answers, "Water under the bridge, Teal'c. Welcome home." With a weak smile, Teal'c nods and replies, "So it is."

* * *

 **11x05 - "Deceiving Guidance"**

Introduction:  
After the loss of the Odyssey, SG-1 is grilled by the IOA's latest representative, James Coolidge. With the ongoing economic crisis of 2008, the IOA plans to dismantle the last of Earth's Daedalus-class ships in an attempt to reimburse their costs. Despite SG-1's attempts to convince him otherwise, Coolidge and the rest of the IOA are set in their decision. Since SG-1's own report claimed a handful of ships wouldn't be enough to defend against Cepheus or the Anunnaki, should either attempt an invasion, there's no point in keeping them active. Stargate Command must find another way to defeat a potential invasion.

Given recent events with the Tok'ra and Jaffa, Earth can't count on their support. Worse still, Cepheus has been annexing territory held by the former Lucian Alliance. Soon, there won't be anyone to stop him, the renewed Goa'uld System Lords or their Anunnaki-Drengin vassals.

So, Daniel suggests finding the Isu artifacts left on Earth.

Ba'al is their first source of information. He had connections with the organization related to the Island, evidenced by his torture of Charles Widmore (11x01 "Elysium's Void"). But Ba'al would never volunteer the information willingly. Recalling the trial of Klorel by the Tollan (3x15 "Pretense"), Daniel recommends visiting Tollana. Although its gate had apparently been buried since Tanith's attack, Daniel suggested they gate to any of the nearest planets to see if any had escaped. After nearly a dozen tries, they find something.

SG-1 arrives on a world called Pellor, one of the Tollan's colony worlds. They find out that Tollana is a post-apocalyptic wasteland. After learning this, the Council on Pellor voted to bury the stargate and isolate themselves. It was only recently, after a confrontation with Cepheus in which their ion cannons were ineffective, did they unbury the gate as per his demands. Daniel explains everything that's happened and asks for their help.

Unlike the Tollan, the Pellor Council is heavily divided. Recent events have only further deepened these divisions. Many fear the Goa'uld will do what Anubis did to their homeworld, so they must take a more aggressive military posture. Others want to preserve old traditions, believing Cepheus leaving them alone after unburying the stargate proved his compassion. Nadith, the Councilwoman who greets SG-1 after their arrival, worries that bringing SG-1's proposal to the Council might cause more trouble than it's worth.

That's when Mitchell and Carter both step in with their respective offer: the Tau'ri have access to a powerful new energy source (the Omega, as revealed in 11x03 "Convictions") which could enhance the Tollan's ion cannons significantly. All they have to do is agree to an alliance with Earth and give up a single detachment device. Reluctantly, Nadith agrees to speak with the Council. Meanwhile, another covertly watches from a nearby alley. He lifts his wrist-attached comm unit to his mouth and says quietly, "They're here."

Back on Earth, Carter and Daniel arrive through the stargate. Mitchell and Teal'c stayed behind. Daniel and Mitchell would later trade places, with Daniel as Earth's representative. In the meantime, Carter explains that they need to contact the NID. Daniel believes that whoever the last commander of the Odyssey was working for might know more about the Isu. Carter thinks they may have even gone after Malcolm Barrett following his information leak (11x01 "Elysium's Void"). "Whoever they are, they've got eyes and ears in the highest levels of government. We need to find out who they are."

Daniel & Teal'c:  
Meeting with the Council, Daniel attempts to convince the Tollan that an alliance would be in both their best interests. He contends with Nadith, who claims the Tau'ri had formerly tried to hold their people as prisoners (1x16 "Enigma") and even disobeyed the previous Council (3x15 "Pretense"). Under questioning, Daniel recalls his experience in the alternate reality where he and the rest of humanity had access to incredible knowledge and technology, only to abuse it for their own gain (4x17 "Absolute Power").

However, this wasn't about giving the Tau'ri weapons. They already had a power that could potentially protect the galaxy from the Anunnaki, possibly even the Abyss (11x02 "Elysium's Void"), if they could learn how to control it. Another on the Council, Mavik, reacts in terror, saying humanity isn't ready for such technology. The Tollan must secure it. As the Council grows restless, the doors open, revealing a familiar face: Vala, now the System Lord Qetesh.

On behalf of the System Lords, Qetesh warns the Tollan against an alliance with the Tau'ri. Should they provide Earth with what they need, the Goa'uld won't hesitate to return and destroy Pellor like they did with Tollana. Teal'c wonders aloud why they didn't do this already. "Because we are not savages," Qetesh answers with a sly grin. "Tempting as it may be, we would much rather have the Tollan as allies rather than cold enemies." Daniel correctly deduces this is because the Goa'uld can't reverse-engineer Tollan technology. But why would they bother if Cepheus already has access to Ancient and Asgard technology?

"That is for us to know, and you to _never_ find out." Qetesh repeats her warning one final time, offering the Tollan their lives in exchange, before leaving.

Later, they meet with Nadith, who claims the Council has reached a decision. They will formally refuse an alliance with the Tau'ri... but she will accompany SG-1 back to Earth with a detachment device and her expertise as a physicist. Suddenly, Mavik and a group of Tollan guards emerge with weapons drawn and take them captive. Mavik knows that SG-1 was responsible for the fall of Tollana, claiming to be one of the survivors. He has them arrested under charges of conspiracy and, in Nadith's case, treason.

Fortunately, Nadith has an unexpected ally: Lya, the Nox who had been involved in Klorel's trial. Her ability to turn invisible and teleport helped her sneak past the guards. She witnessed the aftermath of the destruction of Tollana and became an emissary to Pellor. Although willing to help, she expresses disappointment in the Tau'ri for failing to find another way-even if it meant sacrificing themselves. She transports them out, letting them knock out the guards and acquire their weapons. After that, she gives them a detachment device and tells them where to find Nadith before disappearing for the last time.

Teal'c and Daniel get to the armory, but not before the building starts to quake. Alarms go off. A firefight erupts on the way to where Nadith is being interrogated. They find Nadith, but Mavik claims they're too late. Soon, the Imperialists will take over... and the Goa'uld will have what they want. His eyes glow and he escapes by an Asgard transport beam. With Teal'c carrying Nadith, the duo escape the compound and find the city in chaos. Evading mobs of armed terrorists, they get to the stargate and dial back to Earth.

Desmond, Carter & Mitchell:  
With Malcolm Barrett gone (disappeared; Williams is his replacement, and he's no help), Carter & Mitchell get Jack O'Neill's help uncovering classified government files. These files include information about secret meetings between NID agents and corporate biggies like Charles Widmore, Paik Woo-Jung and Alan Rikkin. One of Widmore's biggest financiers also happened to be the one working closely with Ba'al in Sri Lanka (mentioned in 11x01 "Elysium's Void"): Thomas Mittelwerk.

O'Neill, Carter & Mitchell go after Mittelwerk, enlisting the help of Desmond to track him down. First, they find Eloise, who is in the hospital and not expected to recover. Believing it to be her last chance to redeem herself, Eloise reveals that nothing on the island was as it seemed. Charles knew what the light was because he was _possessed_ by it. As was Mittelwerk before he died at Charles' hand. All of them were, to some degree. It drove them mad. "Like waking up from the perfect life you had... into a world where nothing is so pure."

Eloise claims the light doesn't have a personality or consciousness of its own, being more like a limb of the Heart (so Carter theorizes). It takes and exaggerates the personality of the one whom it 'touched'. Desmond was protected by means of the research her son, Daniel Faraday, had completed. Now it's in the last person to see Charles before he died. Reailizing what this means, Desmond has SG-1 take him back to the island.

Back on the Island, since the destruction of the Heart of Atlantis, the light has faded. Hugo is able to see all the characters who died or 'left' because their memories/consciousness end up in him via the water. Everything about the events on the Island were 'dreamed' by the light, but not without purpose. Through its interactions with Enki's security system (the Smoke Monster), the Heart had an internal crisis of ethics. In the end, it crippled the Smoke Monster and chose to remain true to its creators' intentions (faith over pragmatism).

Ben finds Hurley standing near-comatose in the middle of the Temple, overwhelmed by his visions. He asks what's wrong. Hurley snaps out of it and looks back at Ben with fear. "It was you all along, wasn't it?" Realizing what this meant, Ben becomes more threatening. Hurley takes one step back, while Ben takes a step forward. "You're him."

This coalesces in a final showdown where the trio finds Hurley dead. Ben uses an Apple of Eden against the team, but Carter has already used Faraday's research Eloise hid in a hidden compartment of her son's piano to alter an Anti-Prior Device now limiting the Apple's effects (eliminating its mind control ability entirely). After Ben is defeated (killed) and the Apple retrieved, O'Neill is 'court-martialled' and sent back to SGC to replace Paul Davis as liason in an attempt to protect him from the same people who made Malcolm disappear.

Epilogue:  
Daniel uses the detachment device to force Aziru back to the fore. He reveals where the Trust learned about the Edenel ("Pieces of Eden"): a company in Rome, Italy called Abstergo.

Meanwhile, Desmond tries to cope with the fact that Hugo's gone. Mitchell tells him not to be so sure of that. Given their experiences with ascension and how the Heart of Atlantis (and the light on the island) tied into it, Hugo may have ascended. Desmond asked how sure Mitchell was of that. When he hesitated to answer, Desmond knew it was just an attempt to make him feel better. But Mitchell added hopefully, "Stranger things have happened."

Carter's studies of the Apple of Eden makes her think she can adapt it to work with the Ancient chair in Antarctica. Although not enough on its own, she claims that with the inclusion of a network of satellites, the Apple's power can be turned on attacking ships. Daniel flatly says "No", believing the Tollan were right. But she already made the proposal. The Pentagon approved, and now - like it or not - the IOA are involved.

She hopes the Tollan were wrong.

* * *

 **Episode 11x06 - "Enlightenment"**

Offworld activation. Tomin's calling in from the Ori home galaxy using a ZPM provided by the SGC since they last met. Some of the Priors are reverting. People are holding them responsible for the crimes they committed under the Ori. Without a home to go back to, these Priors are searching for a way to bring back the Ori. Whether or not they'll be successful, Tomin can't say. He asks if SG-1 can intervene. In exchange, he's found out something the Ori never told their followers which the SGC might find important.

SG-1 arrives on Celestis and meets the City Council, Tomin and his soldiers as their guard. At a meeting, they discuss what to do about the rogue Priors. Daniel makes a suggestion. A week ago, he found Adria (11x04 "Change of Heart") and had a vision that made him think she's still alive. Should they find her, she might be able to return and convince the Priors to surrender. Mitchell wonders how Jackson is going to find her. Daniel thinks back on what Trance said. "Back where it all began."

Before they leave for the stargate, Daniel confronts Tomin in the great temple. Tomin leads him through a series of hidden, underground passages that end in a roomy chamber with distorted murals and broken statues everywhere. On the wall across from the entrance, Daniel sees a depiction of the Spirit of the Abyss drawn in charcoal. Tomin says the Ori started out with good intentions, hoping to gain enough power to defend their galaxy from it. The good parts of the Book of Origin stem from that time.

But later, as they started to die, they realized they needed more worshipers to survive. Fearing death as much as any mortal, they went back on their words of peace and sent out armies to conquer and destroy. Forceful subjugation and displays of their powers gave them the lifeforce they lacked at the expense of others. Those who died could be absorbed for a brief increase in the Ori's lifespans, but worship was preferred for being a consistent source.

Finally, Daniel mentions Vala and tells Tomin what happened. At first, Tomin is ready to strike Daniel... but anger soon turns into remorse. Vala used to speak of Daniel fondly. Tomin knew they (Daniel and Vala) had a bond that would put them at odds with his love for Vala. All the same, he knew Vala loved him once. "But that is history as ancient as what's written on these walls." Without waiting for a response, Tomin leaves Daniel to stare at the mural.

Meanwhile, Desmond has a flashback to a moment when he was in the "other world". He sat, alone, in a church. A woman approached and asked if he needed help. It was late and the church was closed. Desmond shook his head. "Not unless you can take a confession." Instead of walking away, the woman sat down and answered, "No one saves us but ourselves. One can't purify another." She asks why he can't let go. Desmond is sure he saw a vision of a woman he loved, but he could no longer remember her name. "True love can be as much a burden as any sin. That doesn't make it wrong... but even those who hurt others can use love to justify their actions." Desmond asks what he should do. She responds:

"One cannot reach enlightenment by running from death."

Desmond wakes up in his quarters in the SGC. Realizing something important is about to happen, he gets up and throws on his clothes. SG-1 has returned with Tomin and are in the briefing room, Daniel sharing what he discovered. Desmond walks in and apologizes for the interruption. He asks if Daniel recalls meeting a woman while he was ascended. Oma Desala. Desmond believes he's met her too. Although worried that bringing Desmond along would only slow down the team, Mitchell capitulates when Daniel suggests Oma (or one of the Ancients) sent Desmond a vision. Together, they depart for Kheb (3x20 "Maternal Instinct").

As Daniel predicted, they find Adria meditating in the shrine. Unexpectedly, they also find Cepheus meditating with her. When confronted, he claims the new Goa'uld won't be like the old gods. Without the naquadah in their bloodstreams, they'll be more open to reason. Daniel points out they'll still take unwilling hosts, and Teal'c follows it up with the fact that they'll still expect to be worshiped as gods. Cepheus acknowledges this but says it won't matter. If the Ancients could forgive even one such as Adria, why couldn't they forgive the Goa'uld?

Holding back Teal'c's anger, Mitchell suggests that they should take Adria and leave. Cepheus says, "I'm afraid that's not possible." His soldiers surround the compound. Though they were ordered to allow anyone in, nobody can leave. With Oma out of the picture, no ascended beings guard the temple. Mitchell then suggests using Cepheus as a hostage, but Cepheus claims he isn't afraid of death. Teal'c wants to test that conviction, but this time, it's Daniel holding him back. They're here for Adria. But she isn't ready to leave.

While the rest of SG-1 try and fail to plan their escape, Daniel, Adria and Cepheus meditate. Desmond, entranced by the place, asks Tomin if he's ever seen anything like it. Tomin responds that the shrine pales in comparison to the city of Celestis... all the while glaring at Daniel. Desmond's seen that look before. "Who is it?" After a moment, Tomin answers: "Her name is Vala." He lost her. "You blame yourself," Desmond correctly guesses. Tomin mistreated her after he joined the Ori's army. He didn't deserve her. "But he does?" Desmond nods toward Daniel, who's too deep in his meditation to hear.

After Tomin doesn't respond, Desmond talks about Penelope. He sailed across an entire ocean to win her father's approval. But he failed to realize he didn't need to earn her heart. He already had it... as she has his.

Daniel finds himself back in the astral diner where he last saw Oma. This time, Adria and Cepheus are with him. The Ancients, posing as the other patrons, ignore them. Frustrated, Daniel sits down at the bar. Adria tells him to be patient. "The Ancients aren't omniscient." Cepheus interjects, saying it doesn't matter. What matters is he speak to them as a representative of the Anunnaki. Daniel angrily retorts that they would hardly speak to the same people who stole their bodies to be used as hosts. Cepheus asks how they can be any different than the Ori if they can't forgive their enemies?

Back on Kheb, Mitchell, Carter and Teal'c scout out the perimeter over the walls. Humans dressed in Jaffa garb and carrying staff weapons patrol in groups of five. That left the four standing at the shrine's entrance and probably more at the stargate. Teal'c, however, is preoccupied with thoughts of his own. He doesn't believe Cepheus is willing to die. Whenever a Jaffa is brainwashed by a Goa'uld, the only way to save them is through the Rite of M'al Sharran (5x02 "Threshold"). Although Cepheus doesn't have a symbiote, Teal'c thinks there's a way to force him to endure the rite another way. Mitchell and Carter reluctantly follow.

Desmond wanders around the temple while Tomin sits and watches the three in contemplation. When Desmond finally sits down beside him, he notes that Tomin isn't about to let it go, is he? Tomin asks why Desmond cares. Desmond answers that he doesn't. "So why do you?" After some time in silence, Tomin explains that he feared Vala. He worried about what she represented. Even now, he isn't sure if his people are ready to live as free as she and the rest of the Tau'ri do. Although he knows little of where Tomin is from, Desmond states with certainty that that's why Tomin loves her. She's everything he needs.

Having made no progress in several hours, Daniel and Cepheus finally sit down at the bar on either side of Adria. They trade a few barbs before Daniel resorts to an idle threat on Ba'al. This draws Cepheus' ire. He calls Daniel a coward and a fool for being afraid to blend with a symbiote. "Even going so far as to kill your own god..." Adria silences them both. She remembers what it was like being Ba'al for a short time. He was self-serving, just like her. But if Daniel and Vala had been so quick to give up on her, she wouldn't be sitting there now. They needed to resolve their differences, not argue.

"Wise words." One of the Ancients emerges from the kitchen. Daniel doesn't recognize her until she utters one of her famous riddles: "You cannot tell the depth of the river until you see the bottom." Oma Desala. Although still fighting Anubis, her followers have given her the ability to appear to them. When Daniel starts to explain who Adria is, she claims to already know. Adria asks what Oma meant. "Who we are is buried within." Some more deeply than others, she mused, recalling Anubis. But she senses more to Cepheus... who suddenly disappears.

Cepheus wakes up in extraordinary pain. Teal'c, holding a hand over Cepheus' mouth, is pressing the jewel centerpiece removed from a Goa'uld bodice against his stomach. Once it's done doing its job, Cepheus has a Jaffa symbiote pouch. Mitchell wonders why Teal'c is carrying it. Teal'c answers that it's meant to remind him of Cepheus' attempt to conquer the Jaffa (11x02 "Elysium's Void"). Now, without either a symbiote or a sarcophagus, Cepheus will suffer from not having a symbiote like any Jaffa.

Being reminded of his own actions in torturing others, Tomin silently steps out. Desmond goes to speak with him first, followed by Mitchell, who orders Carter to stay there and keep an eye on things. "I'm not happy about it either," Mitchell argues. "But we've run out of options." It isn't so much that Tomin is against torturing Cepheus. He just doesn't want to fall back into his old ways. This reminds him of what he did for the Ori. Desmond tries to remind him that his past is behind him, not ahead.

While Oma has stepped away, Adria voices her concerns that she doesn't deserve forgiveness. She oversaw too many atrocities, heartlessly condemning millions to die. Even Daniel admits he wondered about that a lot too. But then he believed that another death wouldn't bring back all those lives she took. Teal'c had also been responsible for a great many crimes. "What's done is done," he says, echoing Mitchell's words after they thought they'd lost Adria (11x04 "Change of Heart"). All they could do now is make sure it didn't happen again-by stopping anyone else who thought as she once did. "Acknowledging it is the first step." Oma stood smiling at the table holding several plates of pancakes, which she laid out on the table.

Teal'c patiently watches as Cepheus shivers in pain, his face red and sweat dropping from his face. Mitchell arrives after another scouting mission, asking Carter how he's doing. He's remaining true to his word. He won't help them. Carter asks whether they're doing the right thing. She's already been through this with Teal'c, but resorting to torture felt wrong. Mitchell asked if this wasn't an idiosyncracy about Jaffa culture. "It is," Carter admitted, but she quickly added, "But where do we draw the line?" Mitchell wished he knew.

Joining Tomin and Desmond outside, Mitchell tells them that Cepheus has been moved to another room. Reluctantly, Tomin follows and asks if they can really trust Adria. "She's your daughter, you tell me," Mitchell curtly replies. Despite his pleas, Tomin wasn't allowed to raise Adria after Vala left. It was the Doci and presumably the Ori themselves that made her into their Orici. His voice softening, Mitchell apologized and left him to watch Adria and Daniel, both still in deep meditation in the center of the shrine.

Back in the astral diner, Daniel asks Oma if she isn't afraid that Cepheus won't end up like Anubis. Even though he doesn't have a symbiote, he made his ambitions clear enough. Oma responds that Adria did too, once upon a time. But unlike Cepheus, Adria had earned her forgiveness. Adria, however, contends that she never would've if the Ancients hadn't given her a chance. It's a risk either way. Daniel wonders what motive Cepheus could have in reforming. That's when Adria takes Daniel by the hand and shows him Ba'al's memories:

Ba'al tormented Cepheus from a young age, making him afraid to ever step out of line. Eventually, his torture made him believe everything Ba'al told him as if the words were coming from his own mind. It was no different than what the Ori did to Adria. Realizing this as they returned to the diner, Daniel feels pity. Oma says this is the second step.

Finally, Cepheus is having intense hallucinations. He cries for his lord, Ba'al, to stop-to end the pain. That's when Ba'al appears to him in the doorway as his father, taking him by the hand and leading him away from the dark chamber where the Jaffa stood with their pain sticks. That's when he awakens to Teal'c, who is watching him intently. Feeling the same kind of terror he did as a child in those days, Cepheus begs to be released. Teal'c refuses. When he begins to cry, Carter asks Teal'c how much longer this will go on. "As long as it takes."

Daniel can't stop pacing around the diner, anxiously wondering if there's any way to escape from Kheb. He heard Mitchell earlier, in the back of his mind, talking to Carter. They needed his help, but for some reason, he couldn't leave the diner. Trying just brought him back here. Adria wonders if there isn't one more step they have to complete. There is... and Daniel knows what's holding him back. If Cepheus never abducted Aziru, Vala never would've been captured. That part of Daniel that loves her refuses to forgive him.

Unable to accept it, Daniel pleads for Oma to help. But she claims she can only do as much as he can do for himself. If he wants her help, he must let her go and find peace. "It is the heat of Love, the pulsing rush of Longing, the lover's whisper, irresistible-magic to make the sanest man go mad." Daniel recognizes Oma's phrase from Homer's Iliad. The Greeks and Trojans fought ten long, bloody years over the love of one woman. "Love is a gift of one's innermost soul to another so both can be whole. But peace comes from within. One cannot seek it from another."

At the height of his pain, Cepheus begins to see the truth. Ba'al used him. He was not the loving father he painted himself to be. Soon after he made that revelation, his body ascends... as does Daniel. Carter makes as if to try and stop him, but Mitchell holds her back. They had to trust that Daniel knew what he was doing.

"I'm ready." Daniel confronts Oma one final time. Adria adds that she is too. Oma tells Adria that she hasn't forgiven herself, not until she finds her mother again. But to Daniel, Oma warns that if she does this, she'll have to stop fighting Anubis. She didn't mention this before, but if she had, Daniel would've never reached this far. "What's important isn't what lies behind us, but what lies ahead." One day, Anubis could be stopped for good. Daniel would just have to take that leap of faith.

Outside the walls of the shrine, Oma casts lightning down on Cepheus' soldiers. While Carter isn't ready to leave without Daniel, Mitchell orders her to get to the gate before more come. He then asks what they're going to do if Cepheus shows up again. Teal'c believes Cepheus will return to his people with the knowledge he has gained and turn them against the Goa'uld. "It is up to him now." As they leave, they find Adria and Daniel standing outside in the courtyard, ready to go. After a quick reassurance that he was fine, and that Oma returned Cepheus to his people, they continued on back to the stargate.

Epilogue:  
Tomin stands at the stargate on Earth (powered by a ZPM he brought with him from Celestis) as it dials up to his galaxy, Adria beside him. She's decided to return with him to convince the rogue Priors that there's a better way than Origin. Daniel wishes her luck before turning to face Tomin. "Bring her home," Tomin pleads. Daniel gives a bittersweet smile and says he will. "For you." That catches Tomin off-guard, but he gratefully nods before following Adria to the gate... while Daniel watches them go, wondering whether or not he gave up too much.


End file.
